Super Koopalings Episode 9: Split Mindset
by StarlitDuck
Summary: Morton used to be chatty and expressive, now he is the exact opposite. And once Iggy finds a piece of prankster comet in the Koopa Kingdom Treasury, he is determined to find out why.
1. The Suppressor

**AN: Well, this here is a very important story. It is the twentieth story I ever published on FanFiction. I hope you guys enjoy it.**

**Also, in case you're wondering, I'll still be updating Soul Swap Redux. I have about two chapters until that one is finished.**

Chapter 1 The Suppressor

Morton had no idea why he was holding onto the book when he entered the common room. The desire to read it had blossomed from a seed of morbid curiosity. To his complete surprise, he had found himself engrossed in the story, and he ended up enjoying it. That is until the ending. The ending of this particular story was one of the saddest that Morton had ever read. He had cried for about twenty minutes after closing the book, and even made a promise to himself to never indulge his curiosity again. Because, as everyone always said in the Koopa Kingdom, "curiosity killed the Cat Mario."

Nevertheless, when Morton walked into the common room, his eyes were as dry as a bone. He had no intention of showing his siblings that he had been crying. If the scene that he observed when he walked into the common room was any indication, they were already preoccupied.

"Give up, Lemmy!" Roy called to his older brother as they were plopped in front of the TV. Lemmy only giggled as he tilted the controller, causing his Mario Kart avatar to enter a drift. The mini turbo was fast enough to send him barreling past Roy. When he crossed the finish line, he cheered

"Woo hoo! I got first place!"

Roy, who had finished the race in second, gawked at the screen in shock. Then he dropped his controller and held up his hands.

"I'm done," he said in frustration as he stood up. "I AM SO DONE!"

Roy left the room in a huff. Lemmy, Larry, Ludwig, and Wendy laughed at his hyperbolic anger. Morton, however, just stood there observing them.

"Hey, Morton," Lemmy said. "Do you wanna play?"

"No," Morton said immediately. He walked over and sat down on the comfy couch, his face blank and completely unreadable.

"Okay," Lemmy said. He turned to the eldest sibling. "Ludwig, do you want to give it a go?"

Ludwig considered it before putting on a mischievous grin.

"Why the World Eight not?" he said happily. While Lemmy and Ludwig selected their characters, Morton just sighed. Wendy took immediate notice.

"What's the matter Morton? Is everything okay?"

"Yes. Everything is fine."

The delivery of that statement was very monotone. Morton had been saying stuff with that inflection for so long that it was almost natural at this point. Almost.

"Come on, buddy," Wendy said coaxingly. "You can tell me."

Morton cast a glance at his older sister. Part of him wondered if birth order was playing a part in her caring so much. Wendy was the third youngest at fourteen years old. Morton was the second youngest at thirteen.

"It's not that big a deal," Morton finally said. He looked down at the book in his hand. "It was just a stupid story, that's all."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course," Morton said, mixing a little bit of reassurance into his tone.

Wendy still looked a little concerned. Her eyes were shining with concern, empathy and love as she stared at her brother.

"Okay," Wendy said. "It's just I worry about you, that's all."

"Don't," Morton said. Then he murmured under his breath, "I don't want you to."

It was around this time that Iggy entered the common room. He had a giddy grin on his face.

"You guys are going to be proud of me!" he exclaimed happily.

"Uh oh," said Larry. "Did you discover _another _element?"

"Nope!" Iggy said with an uncontrollable laugh. He reached into his bag and pulled out what looked to be a black button. It was about seven inches in diameter and was surrounded by a silver metal. Iggy pressed it, and the metal around the button expanded and shaped itself into a vest-like outfit. Wendy and Larry got up from the couch, and Ludwig and Lemmy paused their game to get a closer look.

"What is that?" asked Lemmy.

"Only the greatest invention ever!" Iggy said. He then turned to Ludwig. "Okay Ludwig, what is the one thing that would make your life substantially better?"

"Inner peace," Ludwig said immediately. Iggy shook his head.

"No, aside from that."

Ludwig thought about it before a smile appeared on his face.

"Being an only child?" When he said this, Iggy looked absolutely horrified.

"Oh developer, no! That's just mean!"

"I'm sorry," Ludwig said with a tone and facial expression that showed he was genuinely apologetic. Iggy sighed.

"No, that's not it. Ludwig, what is that one thing that doesn't allow you to express yourself the way you want to, the one thing that makes you terrified of screwing up."

There was a slight pause. Then a look of understanding flashed across the face of the eldest.

"Oh. You're talking about my powers."

Iggy nodded.

"Yes. You're supernatural abilities interfere with how you can express your emotions. Well, I am here to help with that."

Iggy then made Ludwig put on the metallic suit. Once Ludwig put it on, Iggy punched a password onto a keypad on the front of it. A clicking sound could be heard, signifying that a locking mechanism had been activated.

"I don't like where this is going," Ludwig said.

"Don't worry, it's perfectly safe," Iggy replied. He gestured to a cup of water resting on one of the side tables. "Now, can you lift that telekinetically?"

Ludwig turned and held out his hand. He looked confused when nothing happened. The others exchanged looks of wonder and confusion.

"No. I can't!"

"Good," said Iggy. He punched in the password into the keypad again and removed the suit. "Now try again."

Ludwig directed his attention back toward the cup. His hand, as well as the object, glowed with a blue light. The cup floated into Ludwig's hand, and Ludwig took a sip of the drink.

"Mmm. Refreshing," he said nonchalantly. Iggy pumped his fist in victory.

"Yes! I did it!" he said. His other siblings were still confused.

"Iggy, how did you do that; what is that thing?" asked Larry.

"I call it the Power Suppressor!" said Iggy. "I made it out of solder, a compound formed between zinc and tin!"

"Zinc and tin?" Lemmy asked with a giggle. "I 'zinc' that sounds pretty cool."

Larry snorted back a laugh while Wendy, Iggy, and Ludwig rolled their eyes. Morton, however, stayed completely still and silent. While he did find Lemmy's puns funny, he would never dare laugh at them. At least not while Iggy, Ludwig, and Wendy were in the room.

"Anyway," Iggy continued, "Solder acts as a counterbalance to galaxium, which is the source of Ludwig's powers. When he wears the power suppressor, then his supernatural abilities are turned off, so to speak."

"Cool!" said Ludwig as he took the suit. "Thanks Iggy, I think I can make use of this!"

"No problem," Iggy replied. Suddenly, Bowser's voice could be heard calling out.

"Guys! It's pizza night!"

"Oh, sweet!" Larry said. "I forgot all about pizza night!"

Morton could feel his mouth water. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he loved pizza. He loved everything about it, from the zesty tomato sauce to the buttery, garlic covered crust…

"Let's go find Roy then," Lemmy said. Ludwig snickered.

"That won't be hard.. He's probably eating a big tub of ice cream to compensate for his Mario Kart loss."

That was when Morton felt a pang of sadness. He let this slide before, but he couldn't let it slide again.

"Wait. Ludwig?"

Ludwig turned to Morton with a curious look.

"Do you really wish you were an only child?"

Ludwig looked shocked and horrified.

"What? No, of course I don't! Morton, that was a joke!"

"Okay," said Morton. "It's just you say stuff like that all the time…"

"No I don't! And if I do, I apologize. It's probably because I was being sarcastic."

"Sarcastic?" Morton asked.

"Uh yeah, I use sarcasm all the time. Take this for example." Ludwig turned to Lemmy, and when he spoke he used a sardonic tone. "Lemmy, I love how you don't clean your side of our room. It makes my life so much easier."

"Well, if you don't like it, you can always just ask me to clean it," Lemmy said. Ludwig smirked.

"I have. Repeatedly. It is long past the point of being annoying." Ludwig turned back to Morton. "See, that was sarcasm."

Morton nodded solemnly.

"Okay."

"Look, Morton, I am really sorry," Ludwig said with a concerned expression. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad…"

"You didn't," Morton cut him off. "I was just asking for clarification."

The others didn't look so sure. Iggy was about to speak up when Junior entered the common room.

"Hey, do you bozos want to choose the pizza toppings or what?"

Iggy turned to Junior with a smile.

"We'll be up in a minute." He turned to the others. "Come on guys, I'm famished."

The others nodded as they followed Iggy out of the room. Morton hesitated for a minute before following them.


	2. War for Toppings

Chapter 2 War for Toppings

The Koopalings, along with Bowser Jr, entered the throne room in a single file line. Bowser was sitting on the throne, and he had a green cellphone in hand. When his children arranged themselves in front of the throne, Bowser smiled lovingly at them.

"Okay everyone," he said. "What toppings do you want to get for the pizza?"

"Pizza? Singular?" asked Wendy. Bowser chuckled sheepishly. Morton hypothesized that if he were warm blooded, he would be blushing in embarrassment.

"Yeah. I am kind of light on cash tonight, so I can't get you guys individual pizza like we usually do."

The others all exchanged looks of disappointment. Morton, however, did not see this as that big of a deal. There were eight of them, so that meant they would each get one slice. Besides, they were still getting pizza. Zesty, delectable pizza. Morton saw no reason to complain.

"So," Bowser said, the smile returning to his face, "what toppings would you guys like to have?"

"I don't know," Iggy admitted. "I mean, obviously we need to get a topping that everyone can enjoy…"

Morton mumbled an idea from his spot in the line. Everyone turned to face him.

"What is it Morton?" Bowser asked.

Morton felt uncomfortable with everyone facing him. Nevertheless, he knew that he could not stay quiet. He took a deep breath, pushing his discomfort to the side.

"Why don't we just get a plain pizza? None of us like the same toppings, so just trying to choose one would lead to an unnecessary argument."

Bowser looked at Morton, his smile growing brighter.

"That's a very good idea Morton." He started typing a number into his phone. "One large, plain pizza coming up."

"What? No!"

Bowser stopped typing onto the keypad and glanced at his biological son.

"What's the matter, Junior?"

"I don't want a plain pizza!" Junior said. "We always get toppings!"

Bowser was about to speak up when he saw that tears were starting to form on the eight year old's face. He sighed.

"Alright. We can get toppings."

The tears in Junior's eyes seemed to evaporate. He smiled.

"Good! I want hamburger."

"Hamburger!?" Roy asked. "Are you crazy? We should get poison mushrooms! Everyone likes those!"

Junior's facial expression turned sour.

"Yeah, if your name is Roy."

Anger and frustration settled onto the face of the third eldest. He glared at his adopted brother, the heat in his eyes making them visible even underneath his shades.

"I know!" Lemmy said in an attempt to prevent a full-out rumble. "Why don't we get pineapple?"

"Oh yeah, I love pineapple!" Ludwig said as he licked his lips. "We never get pineapple pizza."

"Yeah, because it's nasty!" Larry said. He snickered. "I think a better name for it would be gross apple pizza."

Ludwig growled as electricity crackled around his body. Iggy decided to step forward.

"How about pepperoni? You can't go wrong with a classic!"

"No, I don't want pepperoni," Wendy said. "How about we have olives instead?"

Everyone turned to Wendy with wide eyes.

"OLIVES!?"

"No way!" said Larry.

"I am not getting olives!" said Roy.

"I"d rather have Ludwig set me on fire," said Iggy. "Come on guys, let's just get pepperoni."

"Olives!"

"Hamburger!"

"Poison mushrooms!"

From there, the conversation fell into chaos. Everyone was shouting on top of each.

"Okay guys; that's enough," Bowser said.

His efforts were futile. The Koopalings kept on yelling at each other.

"Why do you always think that your opinions are the say-end all?!" Ludwig yelled at Iggy. "They aren't!"

"Well, you are no better than I am!" Iggy yelled back.

"I am not getting pineapple on a pizza!" Larry yelled at Lemmy. "That's like putting ketchup on a birthday cake!"

The longer they argued, the louder they got. Morton stood to the sideline. He didn't want to engage in a fight. He hated fighting with his siblings almost as much as he hated seeing them fight with each other.

"Guys, stop."

The yelling just kept getting louder. Morton's anxiety levels were going through the roof.

"Why can't we just get poison mushrooms?" Roy yelled. "I like poison mushrooms!"

"EVERYONE STOP!"

A silence fell upon the room. All eyes fell on Morton. Once they saw that body was shaking and that he was breathing a little too quick for comfort, they all became concerned.

"Morton? Are you alright?" Bowser asked.

Morton looked back and forth between his adopted father and his siblings. He took one big breath. Once he let it out, all symptoms of anxiety disappeared, and his face became impassive once again.

"Yes." he said. "I just need some time to myself."

With that, Morton turned and went to his room. He could feel his siblings eyes on his back, but he didn't care.

_They shouldn't be worrying about me_, Morton thought to himself. _They've all got enough on their plate already._


	3. Pets

Chapter 3 Pets

Morton slowly closed the door. Once he was sure that he was safely in, his eyes roamed over his room. He went to the bin near the window and pulled the lid back. The bin was his snack bin, and it was the main place Morton turned to when he was under stress. This time around, he pulled out a little bag of barbecue potato chips. He then plopped himself down on his bed.

"Rawk! Hungry birdie! Rawk!"

Morton looked at the bird cage near the window. Inside it was a beautiful yellow parrot that Morton had named Topaz. Morton went over to Topaz's cage and saw that her food bowl was empty. He chuckled.

"Oh I'm sorry sweetheart. It looks like I forgot to feed you." He held up the bag of chips. "Do you want a potato chip?"

"Chip! Chip! Rawk!" Topaz said as she flapped her wings in excitement. Morton opened the door and placed three potato chips into Topaz's food bowl, to which the bird eagerly began munching on her treats. Morton felt something brush up against his leg. He looked down and smiled.

"Hello, Toasty."

The brown and cream-colored cat meowed softly up at his owner. Morton then heard someone rustling in his snack bin. He snapped his fingers at the chain chomp that had his head buried in the bin.

"Wiggles, no!"

Wiggles only buried his head deeper into the bin, so Morton pulled the puppy out. He looked at him sternly but gently.

"You can't go in there, buddy. There's chocolate in there."

Wiggles looked at Morton with his sparkling ivory eyes. Then he licked Morton across the face, causing Morton to laugh. He then carried Wiggles onto the bed. As Morton stroked his head, he sighed.

"Sadness alert! Sadness alert!" Topaz squealed.

"Shut up Topaz, I am not sad," Morton said as Toasty jumped onto the bed as well. He climbed onto the bed and grabbed the rainbow pony plushie that he slept with. This plushie was a plushie of Rainbow Mare, who was the main protagonist of her own cartoon show. _Rainbow Mare and the Pony Posse Pals_ was Morton's favorite show. However, due to fear of being judged by his siblings, he never talked about it with them. He didn't even know if they knew it existed. Suddenly, Morton heard a knock on his door.

"Morton?" came Iggy's voice. "Is it okay if we come in?"

Morton sighed and hid his Rainbow Mare plushie under his bed. With his stoic face in place, he went and opened the door for his siblings.

"Come in quickly. I don't want Toasty getting out."

The Koopalings quickly made their way into the room. When Ludwig saw that Wiggles was resting on the bed, he stopped dead.

"Wiggles is out?" he asked with fear in his voice. Ludwig had always been freaked out by chain chomps. Morton sighed.

"Don't worry." He displayed a bone toward the chain chomp puppy. "Wiggles, go get the bone!"

Morton threw the bone into his closet. Wiggles eagerly chased after it, and once he was gone Morton closed the closet door. He made his way back toward his bed, and Wendy looked at him in concern.

"Morton, we're really sorry," she said.

"Don't be," Morton said. "I just got stressed out, that's all. It happens to everyone; it's nothing to get worked up over."

The other Koopalings still looked at Morton in concern. Then, Topaz squawked, getting a chuckle out of Larry.

"It sounds like your animal is happy," he said.

"Animal!" said Topaz. "I am a bird, thank you!"

Larry laughed and went over to the cage. He opened the door and put his finger in, trying to pet the parrot.

"I'm sorry Topaz. I didn't mean to offend you."

Topaz squawked and tried to bite his finger. Larry pulled away instantly.

"Hey!" he said angrily.

"Meanie head," Topaz said. This actually got a chuckle out of Morton. He whistled and held out his finger, prompting Topaz to fly over and land there. He stroked her head gently.

"Now Topaz, you be a good girl or you aren't gonna get any crackers."

"I don't want crackers!" Topaz said. "I want loving!"

Morton was stunned. He stared at his pet with wide eyes.

"What was that?" he asked. Topaz ruffled her feathers.

"Sweet sweet loving! Rawk!"

The others burst into laughter. Morton felt embarrassment take hold, but quickly pushed it to the side. He got up and started to carry Topaz back to the cage.

"Okay, I think it's time for you to go to bed."

Topaz squawked and started to sing.

"So long! Farewell! Avidazen! Good Night!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, shut up," Morton said as he put Topaz back in her cage. After putting the cover over the cage, Morton went over and sat back on his bed. He picked up the teal sweater he had been crocheting off of the nightstand and started to work on it.

"Morton," said Iggy. "We didn't mean to overwhelm you."

"You didn't," Morton objected.

"Except that's clearly not true! You aren't the kind of person who yells for fun, after all!"

Morton sighed and put down his sweater. He stared into Iggy's eyes.

"Look," he said. "Guys, you don't have to worry about me. I am perfectly fine, and I have no idea where you guys got the idea that I am not. You are just wasting your time by being here."

"But Morton…" Iggy said. Morton just shook his head.

"Iggy, please. At this point, all you are doing is just adding an unneeded layer of stress into your life."

Morton resumed with his crocheting. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Iggy's mouth was hanging open. Then he slowly closed it and sighed.

"Come on guys," he said with a sad inflection. "Let's go."

With that, Morton's siblings exited the room. Once they were completely gone, Toasty jumped onto the bed. He purred as Morton pet him, causing Morton to smile. Toasty's purring was very therapeutic.


	4. Way Back When

Chapter 4 Way Back When

"Why did you make us leave?" Roy demanded.

Iggy bit his lip.

"I felt that I did the right thing," he said. "I made the right call."

The others gawked at him. They often turned to Iggy for leadership and guidance, so they greatly trusted his judgement. However, this decision was making them second guess him.

"But Iggy," Wendy said. "Morton is under emotional distress!"

"I know that, Wendy," Iggy said sternly. "I'm not stupid."

"Then why did you make us leave?" Lemmy yelled angrily. "We need to help Morton!"

"I agree with Lemmy," Ludwig said. "Suppressing your emotions to the extreme the Morton does is not healthy."

Iggy let out a sigh. He knew that! Ludwig didn't need to tell him that! He knew all about the danger of suppressing emotions; psychology was one of his majors in college, after all. He knew that they needed to do something, especially seeing how abruptly Morton had cut them off during their last conversation. However…

"Trying to talk to him is not going to get us anywhere," Iggy said. "He clearly doesn't want to talk to us. We all know that he got stressed out when we were arguing about the toppings. Can you imagine how much worse he could get if we try to pick at the wound?"

The others nodded hesitantly. While they could see Iggy's logic, they did not agree with it. However, seeing how Iggy was an expert, they were willing to listen to his advice.

"Okay," said Wendy. "So we just leave him alone?"

"Yes," Iggy said. "That appears to be what he wants."

"But what are we gonna do after he calms down?" asked Larry.

Iggy sighed.

"I don't know."

….

It was the middle of the night and Iggy was pacing across the common room. Back and forth, back and forth. He was like a pendulum, slowly making its way from one side to the opposite side. While he was pacing, he was talking to himself.

"What can I do? I clearly can't go to Morton directly. I can't be passive aggressive either; he hates that."

While he was in the middle of his monologue, Kamek slowly entered the room. He watched Iggy pacing, finding the display interesting and amusing.

"Maybe I can hook him up with some sort of counselor?" Iggy continued. "That seems like a good idea." He sighed. "But finding one that is right for him could take forever!"

"Might I ask who you are talking about?" Kamek asked. Iggy sighed.

"Morton." He turned and started pacing to the other side of the room. "I want to help him but I don't know how."

"Why do you feel like help is necessary for him?" Kamek asked.

"Because he never talks to anybody!" Iggy stopped pacing and faced the magikoopa advisor. "He stores his emotions away like they are jars of jam! Kamek, that is not healthy!"

Kamek thought about this.

"Hmm. You're right. And if the display that Bowser said went down in the throne room is any indication, he is heading down a very dark road."

"Exactly!" Iggy took a seat on the comfy couch. He allowed his body to sink into the pillows, knowing that their soft texture could help to ease his own distress. "I just don't know what to do. I mean…." he sighed… "I guess I'm just baffled that he of all people is acting like this."

"Why do you say that?" Kamek asked as he took a seat beside Iggy. Iggy faced him, his expression displaying a sad and troubled internal conflict.

"Don't you remember what he was like when we were little. He was so chatty and vibrant! He wanted to talk about anything and everything; he was just so...excited about life!"

"Well, people change," Kamek said. "Remember how Roy was the biggest womanizer this side of Yoshi Falls?"

"I do," Iggy said. "That was before he met Celia." Iggy chuckled. "On top of that, Wendy was the vainest girl ever up until the tail beard incident. But with both of those cases, we could all clearly see what caused those two to change. With Morton...he's a closed book."

Kamek nodded.

"That is true," he said. "Perhaps this is just a phase that he is going through?"

"No. This is not a phase. This has been going on for years now, phases don't last that long. Something else is going on." Iggy's face fell deeper into sadness. "I just wish I had a way to find out what."

Iggy sunk deeper into the pillows. He had no idea why this was so difficult. He was great with reading people, including his other siblings. But with Morton...that was just a case that he could not crack.

"Well," Kamek said slyly. "I think I might have the answer you are looking for."

Iggy sat up. His interest was definitely piqued.

"You do?" he asked. Kamek nodded. "What?"

"Somewhere in the Koopa Kingdom treasury," he said, "is a piece of a cosmic comet that fell to the Mushroom World about seventy years ago. Bowser's grandfather had a spell cast on it so that it would not create cosmic clones. However, I believe that the power still rests within it."

Iggy snorted.

"Those comets are pure galaxium! Of course the power is still in it!"

"Exactly," Kamek said. "Now, I'm not a scientist, so I don't know exactly how you can do this, but I have a hunch that power is something you might want to use."

Iggy felt confused.

"Cosmic comets create clones of someone. Why would I want to make a clone of someone?"

Kamek shrugged.

"I don't know. It's just a thought."

Iggy considered this. He did not need clones of Morton running around. What he needed was a way to get into Morton's mind. How could creating clones of Morton help him understand his brother's thought process? Suddenly, it clicked.

"Oh my developer," Iggy said as his eyes grew wide. "Thanks Kamek. I know what I have to do!"


	5. Sleep Deprived

Chapter 5 Sleep Deprived

Five Days. That was how long Iggy had been in the lab; five days. He had not slept, eaten, or cleaned himself during that time. He had been far too concerned with the device he was building.

The device resembled a cross between a ray gun and a magic wand. It had a long, stick like part made out of solder, and it had buttons on the side so that it could activate the comet piece on the top. There were four buttons, and each had a number from two to five engraved on it.

Iggy was using a wrench to tighten the comet piece in place, as well as another tool to remove a layer of solder. Afterward, he smoothed the surface out so that it did not appear to have any dents. When he had finished doing that, he admired his invention for a brief period.

"Okay," he said. "Time to see if it works."

Iggy went to the other side of the room and brought out a white mouse from a cage. He put it in a small, fenced in area on one of the lab tables. It had an exercise wheel, a bowl of food, and a water bottle in reach of the mouse. He aimed the device at the test subject and laid his finger on the button marked with the number three. A blue light shot out of the comet chunk, and when it hit the mouse, Iggy gasped. There was no longer one mouse, but three. One was sleeping, another was eating, and another was on the exercise wheel. Iggy pulled back his glasses in shock.

"I did it," he said softly. A grin spread across his face. "I did it!"

Iggy laughed giddily. Then, with the device in hand, he exited the lab. He was shocked to see five of his siblings standing in front of the door when he stepped into the hallway.

"Oh, greetings to you, fellow siblings. Why do you show the signs of frustration?"

"You disappeared into the lab for five days! It would have been nice to have a warning!" Larry said.

Iggy smiled sheepishly.

"My apologies." He then yawned and rubbed his eyes. Wendy looked concerned.

"Iggy, did you get any sleep at all?" she asked.

"Well, that depends," Iggy said.

"On what?" asked Larry.

"On whether or not you're willing to accept no as an answer."

The Koopalings sighed in frustration.

"You're unbelievable," said Larry. "What were you even doing in the lab, anyway?"

Iggy smiled proudly and displayed his device.

"I have been constructing this," he said. "I plan on using it on Morton."

Lemmy gasped in fright.

"You're gonna hurt Morton?"

"What? No! Goodness, gracious no! You see, this device was made out of a prankster comet fragment. I have tinkered with it so that I can exploit its power. Now it has the ability to divide any being into the core aspects of their personality."

The Koopalings looked a little unsettled. Iggy had been known to jump across very large leaps of logic to get to very high extremes in the past. However, this just seemed unethical.

"And why would you want to do that?" Ludwig asked with a curious and concerned tone of voice

"I believe that this device can help us discover the root of Morton's problem," Iggy said.

"But Iggster," Roy said, "don't you think that this is a little dangerous?"

"Pfft. No," Iggy smirked. He started walking toward Morton's room. "Now, if you'll excuse me…"

Before he could get any further, Roy grabbed him by his mohawk and dragged him back.

"Iggy, you aren't doing that," he said.

"Why not?

"Because you're acting stupid right now!"

"Roy is right," Lemmy said. "Morton is not some test dummy that you can try your inventions on!"

"I know that!" Iggy started walking down the hall again. "Guys, I've got everything under control!"

"Oh really?" said Larry. Iggy turned back around.

"Of course! Morton will be fine; I know about every possible danger relating to this procedure."

Ludwig raised his eyebrow.

"Are the effects reversible?" he asked.

"Of course they are!" Iggy said. Then his face fell a little. "I think."

Ludwig gawked.

"I think? You're willing to put Morton's life at risk because of an 'I think?'"

Iggy was about to respond when Wendy held up her hand to shush him.

"Iggy, you clearly aren't thinking logically. I think that you need to get some sleep."

Iggy shook his head rapidly.

"No! I need to help Morton!"

With that, Iggy broke out into a run. He could hear his siblings rushing to catch him. He was certain that he would get to Morton's room before they did. That is until Ludwig flew up and landed in front of him. Ludwig grabbed Iggy by the forearms, causing him to wriggle and squirm. He was like a worm about to be put on a hook.

"Iggy, I'm taking you to your bed."

"No!" Iggy screamed, deaf to Ludwig's gentle inflection. "I can't go to sleep!"

"You need to." Ludwig looked toward Lemmy. "Lemmy, go get Kamek."

Lemmy nodded and ran off. The others helped Ludwig as they guided Iggy to his room. Iggy was practically hysterical as they laid him in his bed.

"I need to help Morton! I need to help him!"

"Iggy, calm down," Wendy said. "It's gonna be okay."

Iggy was weeping now.

"This is pointless! I haven't slept over the past few days because I was worried! I can't sleep without getting Morton the help he needs."

Wendy looked at Iggy sympathetically. When she heard the door open, Iggy noticed cedar that she gave a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank goodness," she said as she turned to Kamek and Lemmy. "We really need your help Kamek."

Kamek nodded and looked at Iggy seriously.

"I'm going to put a sleeping spell on you."

"No!" Iggy said, although he was too tired to object energetically.. "Kamek, Morton needs my help."

Wendy came closer gave him a weak smile.

"It's okay, Iggy. He will still be there when you wake up."

"Besides," Larry chimed in, "don't you think you'll be more help to him fully rested?"

Iggy hesitated.

"I..."

"Duerme Lulli Shuteye," Kamek said as he waved the wand. Just like that, Iggy was out cold.


	6. Splitting The Personality

Chapter 6 Splitting the Personality

The first thing that fell upon Iggy's ears was a bird chirping. It sounded sweet, innocent. It sounded so serene that Iggy swore that it was part of his dream. That is until he opened his eyes. He stared out the window and saw a gorgeous white bird. It eyed him curiously until he he flipped his head to the side, then it flew away.

Iggy realized that the bird was a morning dove. As their name implied, morning doves only came out and sang when the sun was going to rise. Iggy took a glance at the clock on the mantle and saw that it was 6:30 am.

_How long was I asleep_? He wondered. He reasoned that it had been about eighteen hours, as his siblings had taken him to his room around noon time. He yawned and sat up. As he stretched, he gratefully noticed how awake he actually felt. Before, he had been so sleep deprived that his eyelids weighed him down, creating the illusion that he was underwater. It had not at all been a pleasant feeling, and what had made it worse was that Iggy now realized that it had affected his ability to think logically.

Iggy got up and slowly made his to the common room in the first floor hallway. He felt shame grip him as his reasoning was restored. He needed to thank the others. He needed to apologize to them too.

"Hey," he said to his siblings when he entered the common room. Roy, Larry, Wendy, Ludwig, and Lemmy all ceased with their activities and went up to their bespectacled brother. Each and everyone of them bore expressions of concern.

"How do you feel?" asked Wendy.

"Substantially better," Iggy replied. "What day is it, anyway?"

"The next," said Ludwig. Iggy chuckled.

"I knew it." He sighed, shame and guilt starting to suck away all other emotions on his face. "Guys, I am so sorry."

"It's okay, Iggy," said Lemmy. He smiled. "It was just a lapse of judgement. We all have them."

"Especially me," Roy said. "And your judgement calls weren't nearly as bad as some of mine, so you don't have to worry, Iggster."

Iggy didn't know how to respond, so he opted to hang his head. As he looked down at the ground, he could feel the gaze of his siblings boring into his skull.

"What's the matter, Iggster?" Larry said as he forced himself into Iggy's view.

"I just...I believe that you guys were right. My lack of sleep was causing my judgment and my reasoning to become cloudy. I think...I need to figure out a method which I can put the personality back together before I can use it on a koopa."

"That's a good idea," Ludwig said with a nod of approval. Then he adopted a curious expression. "By the way, how many times have you tested the device?"

Iggy chuckled sheepishly.

"Well...once."

The others opened their mouths. Assuming that they were going to criticize him, Iggy stopped them from speaking.

"Wait wait wait! Look, I know; it was stupid. But don't worry. I am going to perform more tests. I am also going to ask Morton's permission before I perform the procedure on him."

The faces of the other Koopalings began to soften.

"That's good, Iggy," Wendy said. "That will be able to keep Morton more safe."

Iggy smiled.

"Well, that is my ultimate goal."

…

It had been a month since Morton's siblings had barged into his room. Much to his relief, they hadn't expressed any more of their worries, at least not to his face. Unfortunately, because of this, he hadn't been able to express some of his own worries.

For example, he was worried about Wiggles being sick.

Wiggles had broken his way into Morton's snack bin. He had eaten everything, including the chocolate. Morton had been by his side as he was throwing up, but unfortunately, that was all he had been able to do over the past five hours.

Morton was crying as he looked at Wiggles. Wiggles weakly lifted his head, his eyes glimmering with love for his owner. Morton stroked him on the head.

"What can I do?" he asked.

Of course, he knew what he had to do; go to Iggy. While Iggy mainly worked with chemistry, he did know a thing or two about animals. But Morton couldn't go to Iggy. Morton's brother was one of the most intelligent koopas of all time, and Morton couldn't go to him.

"It's gonna be okay, Wiggles," Morton said. He chuckled. "Let this be a lesson to never eat my snacks."

The joke fell flat, as Morton knew it would. He was talking to a sick chain chomp puppy, after all. Morton gently picked up Wiggles and held him in an embrace. He was just about to start evaluating his possible options when his siblings entered the room.

"Guys!" Morton said as he put Wiggles back in his dog bed. He was too worried to put on his stoic face. "What are you…"

"Morton, we're here to help you," Iggy said as he approached Morton. He had a bag strapped over his left shoulder, and out of it he pulled the device he had been working on. Morton sighed.

"Iggy…"

"Just listen to me," Iggy interrupted. He displayed the device to Morton, who eyed it skeptically. "This device will allow me to split you up into the five core parts of your personality. This procedure is one hundred percent reversible and one hundred safe. If you allow me to do this, it will allow me to see the problem that you have and put me on the road to fixing it. So, what do you say?"

Morton looked back and forth between Iggy and the device. Then he held his gaze on Iggy. He noticed that his brother looked determined to use his invention.

"Iggy, I don't need your help," he said softly.

"Except that you do!" Iggy's expression shifted to one of concern. There was also a hint of fright and worry on his face as well. "Morton, you have been hiding your true feelings. I don't believe even you would deny that. If you continue doing this to yourself, you could very heavily damage your psyche. Please Morton; please let me help you!"

Morton looked into Iggy's eyes. He felt his own start to water, and he felt his heart break.

_He's doing this for me," _he thought. _He's upset because of me._ Morton sniffled and dried a tear from his eye.

"Okay," he said softly.

Iggy smiled.

"Thanks, Morton," he said. Iggy aimed the device at Morton and pressed the button with the number five engraved on it. A light shot out of the comet piece, and when it cleared there were five Mortons in the room. Each one had a different color starbite and shell.

"Woah!" Larry exclaimed.

"Cool!" Roy shouted excitedly. The Morton with a yellow starbite and shell came over to them.

"Hi guys! How are you today?"

"We're great!" said Roy as he slapped this Morton on the back happily. "How are you doing, buddy?"

"Great, superb, fantastic, AWESOME!" The yellow Morton exclaimed. "I feel free as a bird! I am on cloud nine! You know, I always wondered where Cloud Nine is. Is it in some sort of fantasy realm? And what happened to the other eight clouds? Did they get blown away by a wind? Did they turn to rain clouds? Did someone steal them?"

Roy snorted back a laugh.

"Iggy, I think we can call this one the chatty Morton," he said. Iggy nodded in agreement.

"That appears to be correct," he said. Morton's chattiness continued to yap away.

"Hey Ludwig, do you like dachshunds? Because I am thinking of getting one. Oh hey, Lemmy, when was the last time you saw a rainbow?"

"Okay, okay, that's enough." The Morton with a white starbite and shell went over to Chattiness. He had a stern expression on his face. "We don't want to overwhelm anybody."

Chattiness chuckled sheepishly. Lemmy looked toward Iggy.

"Which Morton do you think this is?" he asked.

"Hmm," he said. "I'm guessing...the ethical center?"

The white Morton nodded at Iggy.

"That is correct," he said. Then everyone turned to the orange Morton as he groaned in the bed.

"I don't want to get up," he said groggily. "It's too early."

"It's five pm!" said Wendy.

"Oh," said the orange Morton. Then he let out a yawn. "Well then I guess it's too late."

He leaned back and started snoring. As he did this, the purple shelled Morton came up to Iggy.

"I feel like making something for dinner tonight," he said. "I was think of maybe a tortellini dish? With some fresh pesto and mozzarella; you know, to give it character."

Iggy nodded in affirmation. Then he looked around the room at the five Morton's.

"Okay," he said. "Let's see if I got this down. Yellow is chattiness…"

"Correctamundo!" said Chattiness.

"White is the ethical center…"

The Ethical Center nodded. Iggy turned and looked at the orange Morton in the bed.

"Orange is laziness…"

Laziness let out another earth rattling snore. Ethical Center sighed in frustration and went over. He started shaking Laziness, trying to get him out of bed.

"Purple is love for food…" Iggy continued.

"Yes," the purple Morton said with a nod.. Iggy then turned to the one Morton he hadn't spoken to yet. This one had a blue shell, and he was leaning over Wiggles in a sad fashion.

"I'm so sorry, Wiggles," he said miserably. "This is all my fault."

Iggy stared at the blue Morton. This wasn't what he thought it was, was it?

"Who are you?" he asked. The blue Morton looked up at him.

"My name…" He hesitated then let out a sigh. "Oh, what's the point. You would probably forget my name, anyway. It's not like I'm important."

Iggy was shocked. The other Koopalings were just as taken aback.

"Woah," said Wendy.

"Looks like we found the problem," said Ludwig. Iggy himself was heartbroken.

"Morton...err uh, Depression," he said hesitantly. "Why are you…?"

"He's fine," said the Ethical Center. He went up and put his hand on Iggy's shoulder. "Iggy, you don't have to worry about him."

"But…"

"Iggy." The Ethical Center looked at Iggy lovingly as Depression pet his sick puppy. "I can handle this on my own."

Iggy looked between Morton's five traits. He didn't know what to do. But he did know that he had to help Morton. While he did find the problem, he knew his mission wasn't complete. He had to find the cause of Morton's depression; he had to find the root.


	7. Conflicting Emotions

Chapter 7 Conflicting Emotions

"So there are five of them now?" Bowser asked.

"That is correct," Iggy said. The whole family was sitting at the majestic ebony table that stretched across the length of the dining hall. Seeing how Chattiness, Laziness, Depression, and the Ethical Center were with them, the table was almost full. Junior made a face at Laziness, who was snoozing like a dog in the seat next to him.

"Yeesh," he said as he noticed the drool sliding down onto the table. "Isn't one of him enough?"

Iggy was about to respond when Chattiness initiated a conversation over on his end of the table.

"Hey, has anyone watched the latest episode of 'Rainbow Mare?'"

Silence. The other Koopalings exchanged looks with one another. Then Larry broke the silence with a snicker.

"Well, that was random," he said.

"What in the world is Rainbow Mare?" asked Wendy in confusion.

"Only the greatest show ever!" Chattiness shouted. He had a smile on his face that was bigger and brighter than the sun. Nevertheless, The Ethical Center looked worried.

"Chattiness," he said. "Please don't talk about Rainbow Mare. I am pretty sure that our siblings don't want to hear about it."

"Says who?" said Lemmy. "I want to hear about it."

"Me too," said Ludwig from his spot next to Lemmy. Chattiness and the Ethical Center stared at them in surprise, there expressions perfectly identical.

"You do? Really?" they asked in perfect unison.

"Sure," said Ludwig. "I think it could be cool."

Lemmy beamed brightly.

"What was the latest episode about?" he asked cheerfully.

Chattiness looked a little stunned. Then a smile spread across his face when he realized that his siblings were earnestly asking about the show he cared about so much. Relief was also spreading like a flood across the face of the Ethical Center. Chattiness looked at the Ethical Center briefly before he launched like a rocket into his spiel.

"Well, Rainbow Mare is a pegasus who fights this group called the Doom Harbingers. In this episode, the leader of the Harbingers, Minimus, cast a spell on a suit of armor, turning it into Dark Armor!"

"Dark Armor?" asked Roy, leaning forward in interest.

"Yeah!" Chattiness said. The excitement he had seemed to increase a hundred fold. "The Dark Armor has the ability to bend darkness to its will! Not only that, but it draws its energy from the darkest fears of our heroes, including Rainbow Mare! It can also whisper your worst insecurities and your friends' darkest secrets into your ear!"

Chattiness continued to delve deeper into the facts pertaining to Rainbow Mare. As he spoke, Iggy listened with keen interest. Why hadn't Morton spoken about Rainbow Mare before? It sounded like a great show! Sure, the fact that the main protagonist was a rainbow maned pegasus sounded stereotypically feminine. However, the quality of writing that Morton's chattiness was describing sounded superb! Iggy cast a glance at Morton's Depression, wondering if that factor was a tively involved in Morton's silence.

Chattiness talked for about ten minutes, going into detail of not just the episode but other aspects of the show. One would think that he got annoying after a while, but that wasn't the case at all. He was very articulate, using his words as the palette to paint glorious pictures, the thread to weave intricate webs of design. The way he described the animation of the show was enough to make the others desperately want to see it. Chattiness had just about come to the end of his story when Love for Food entered the room. He was accompanied by the koopa troopa servants, each carrying a plate.

"I've finished cooking!" Love for Food called out happily.

Iggy looked at the plate that was set before him. The meal placed before him was the meal that Love for Food had described earlier: tortellini with pesto. There was mozzarella expertly shredded resting on top of the colorful noodles, and there were cherry tomatoes as well. The tomatoes were sliced in half along the mid section, and they were cooked just enough to give them a crisp color.

"Wow Morton, this looks delicious!" Bowser said heartily.

"Thanks!" Love for Food said. "I added the cherry tomatoes for a little bit of a kick. I hope it tastes as good as it looks."

When Iggy took a bite, he was awestruck. It didn't taste as good as it looked; it tasted ten times better! Not one flavor was out of place! Each ingredient on the plate blended together perfectly! Iggy had never enjoyed a meal this much. It was so good that he felt his own mood lighten substantially.

"Wow!" Roy gushed with a mouth stuffed with pasta. "This is…

"Incredible!" Larry exclaimed. Love for Food gave a smile.

"Thank you," he said. He sounded both proud and humble at the same time. He took a seat, making the table officially full.

"Morton, you should cook more often!" Lemmy said.

"You...you like my food that much?" Love for Food asked in surprised. He did it in unison with the Ethical Center and Depression, which Iggy found intriguing.

"Of course!" Lemmy continued. "You're so talented! Why didn't you cook for us before!"

Love for Food hesitated as he snuck a glance at the Ethical Center.

"I guess...I'm not sure."

Iggy noticed Depression get up and sneak away from the table. Curious, Iggy followed him quietly.


	8. Painful Memories

Chapter 8 Painful Memories

Iggy couldn't help but notice that Depression seemed to be dragging his feet as he made his way through the echoey halls. Not only that, but he also seemed to move quickly. It might sound like those two actions would oppose each other, as Iggy originally thought they would. Nevertheless, Depression moved as swiftly as a fox.

Iggy started to wonder where he was going. He wasn't going to the east wing where his bedroom was. He wasn't going to the kitchen or to any other places where Morton was usually found. No, he was heading to the west wing. The only rooms of importance within the west wing were the bedrooms of Bowser Junior, some of the servants, and Kamek, as well as Kamek's private study in the first floor hallway.

As Iggy followed Depression, he started to wonder if Kamek's study was where he was headed. If that was the case, why would he want to go there? Morton wasn't a magic fanatic; what could possibly be in Kamek's study that would be of interest to him?

Iggy watched from a good ten feet away as Depression knocked on the door to Kamek's study. It opened with a creak, allowing Depression to sneak like a bandit into the room. When the door closed, Iggy rushed over and tried the knob. Miraculously, it came open with ease.

"Morton," Iggy said. "What are you…"

"Shh!"

Iggy was taken aback by the sound of Kamek shushing him. He was even more surprised by the fact that Depression had his hands on a memory sphere. Iggy approached and eyed Kamek suspiciously.

"Kamek, what is going on?" he asked in a whisper.

"He asked me if he could use my memory sphere after dinner," Kamek whispered back.

Iggy cast a glance at Depression. His eyes were glowing turquoise, which was the same color that the memory sphere was.

"Iggy, may I kindly ask why you are here?" Kamek said.

"I was just curious as to where Depression desired to go," Iggy explained quietly. Kamek nodded.

"I see."

Suddenly, Depression let out a gasp. Iggy looked and saw that Depression had come back out of the memory that he had wanted to see. His face fell when he noticed that Iggy was in the room.

"Oh. Hey, Iggster."

"Hey," Iggy replied, surprised that Depression of all people decided to use Iggy's nickname. Kamek grinned slyly.

"Oh! I just remembered! I have to go eat dinner myself." Kamek started making his way toward the exit. Iggy noticed that he left his wand lying on a chair.

"Oh, Kamek! You left your…"

_SLAM_!

Iggy looked at the closed door for a minute. Why did Kamek want to leave Iggy alone with Morton's Depression? Why did he leave his wand behind? Now that Iggy thought about it, Kamek hadn't locked the door before Iggy came into the study. Did Kamek want the two of them together; what exactly did Kamek have up his sleeve?

"So," Iggy said as he turned to Morton's Depression. He chuckled nervously, unsure of what to say. "Dinner was of an exemplary quality."

Depression just nodded, an emptiness present in his eyes.

"Did you enjoy it?" Iggy asked.

"I didn't eat it," Depression replied. Iggy was surprised.

"Really? What influenced that decision?"

Depression shrugged.

"I just didn't feel like it."

Iggy's face fell a little. Of course. He was talking to the manifestation of Morton's Depression. One of the symptoms of the condition was loss of appetite. Iggy decided that he had better change the subject, preferably to something more upbeat.

"What memory did you decide to view?"

Depression stared at his reflection in the ball. He stroked, the pristine, glass surface.

"A happy one," he said with a hint of nostalgia. "One with Wiggles in it."

Suddenly, a tear slid down Depression's cheek. It landed on the floor, make the hue of the carpet darker. Iggy placed his hand on his brother's shoulder.

"What is troubling you?" he asked. Depression sniffled.

"Wiggles is sick," he said. He used his hand to dry his eyes. "I don't...I don't know how to help him."

"Well then, perhaps I could be of assistance," Iggy said. "What infectious disease is your chomp afflicted with?"

Depression's cheeks were becoming wetter and wetter by the second.

"Chocolate poisoning," he said weakly.

"Chocolate poisoning!" Iggy was flabbergasted. While chain chomps were more tolerant to chocolate than regular dog breeds, they still needed treatment if they consumed it. Thankfully, Iggy knew exactly how to treat a chomp. "I will look at Wiggles as soon as I get the opportunity!"

Depression gave a weak smile.

"Thank you," he said quietly. He directed his attention back to the memory sphere, rubbing it as if it were a genie lamp. Iggy looked at Depression's face. In that instant he became angered at the way the others have been behaving around Morton.

"You know," Iggy said, trying to disguise his anger with a smile. "The others have not been treating you well."

Depression turned.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, take Ludwig's only child comment, for example. I would imagine that would only contribute to possible feelings of worthlessness that someone like you would have." Iggy snickered. "I mean, I would never say stuff like that to you."

To Iggy's surprise, Depression's brow furrowed.

"Except that you did."

Iggy looked at him in surprise. Did he hear that right?

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

Depression's mouth sloped downward into a furious frown.

"Except that you did say something like that to me. You called me a showoff."

Iggy was confused. He called Morton a showoff? When did he do that? He had no memory of that!

"I apologize, Morton, but I am afraid that you're mistaken."

Depression raised an eyebrow. He then picked up Kamk's wand and aimed it at the memory sphere.

"Observus pastel Morton triste."

The memory sphere gave off a periwinkle glow. Depression gestured for Iggy to put his hands on it.

"I think this might refresh your memory."

…

"_So, we're just gonna...break in?" I say._

_Iggy stares up at the castle wall. I can see a hint of embarrassment on his face. I think he knows as well as I do that this is not his greatest plan._

"_That is what I have formulated," he says to me._

_I stare him down. Is he really serious? We need to use a plan that is foolproof. After all, the two of us breaking into Peach's Castle is beyond risky. If this were just a normal kidnapping mission I wouldn't be so hesitant, but we are doing this to help Wendy._

"_This plan stinks," I finally say with a snicker. Iggy glares at me._

"_Oh really?" he asks irritably. "Well, Koopstein, do you have any better ideas?"_

_I open my mouth. To be honest, I don't. I don't have a grand, elaborate plan. But here's the thing; I am a koopa of average intelligence. Iggy is a certified genius. If he was able to graduate from college as a seven year old, obtain twenty scientific awards before he turned fifteen, AND get us into this whole tail beard mess, then he should definitely have a better plan! In all honesty, it feels like he is only putting half of the effort in that he normally does! Which, of course, is a problem, because WE ARE DOING THIS FOR WENDY! __**OUR SISTER!**_

_I don't say that though. In the end, my consideration for Iggy's feelings outweighs my desire to yell at him._

"_No, I don't," I say with my stoic face on. Hey, at least I am honest about that._

"_Very well," Iggy says. He reaches into his bag and pulls out a rope. He attempts to get it into the open window three times, and fails without fail each time. After Iggy vents his frustration over this, I decide to pick up the rope._

"_Mind if I give it a go?"_

"_Knock yourself out," Iggy replies with a scoff. _

_I aim the rope at the window and throw it. To my surprise, I end up getting it on the first try. I gotta admit, I am legitimately happy that I was able to do it. I turn to Iggy with a little smile on my face. Iggy, however, greets it with scorn._

"_Show off."_

_Sh...show off?_

….

Iggy was shocked when he felt himself being pulled out of the memory. He glanced at Depression, who looked both crushed and angered at the same time.

"Morton…"

"Do you have any idea how much that hurt me?" Depression asked.

Iggy was baffled. That...what he had said was just a little snide comment made in frustration! It wasn't meant to make Morton upset; that was never the intention!

"I…"

"I bet you think you're so high and mighty!" Depression yelled. "I bet you think you're all that and a bag of chips because _you're Iggy_! You're so smart that you have an IQ in the high two hundreds! You're so smart that you discovered an element at four years old! You're so smart that you should be able to say whatever you want because everyone else is beneath you!"

Iggy shook his head in disbelief.

"Morton," he began, his eyes starting to water. "I'm so sorry!"

"Pfft. Well ain't that wonderful," Depression said. "Did you ever stop to think about what I was going through when you said that? Iggy, you hurt me! You really hurt me!"

Iggy didn't know what to say. Did...was he the cause of Morton's depression? No...no, that couldn't be! Morton had been putting on his impassive face for years. But then...why would he hold onto the memory?

"Morton, am I the reason you're depressed?"

Morton's Depression gawked at Iggy in surprise. He was just about to say something when the Ethical Center burst through the door with a worried expression.

"Depression!" he ran over to his fellow trait. "I heard you yelling! Didn't we agree that we didn't want our siblings to worry about you?"

Depression's face fell back into sadness.

"Yes."

"Okay." The Ethical Center took Depression's hand. "Come on then. Rainbow Mare is on."

The two Mortons walked out of the room together. Iggy wanted to follow them, but he didn't know what to say. How could he possibly fix a wound this deep? For the first time in a long while, Iggy didn't know what to do.


	9. The Root

Chapter 9 The Root

Bowser was so tired that he couldn't possibly imagine himself in any other state. His brain was shutting off, his eyelids were so heavy that they were weighing him down. He was definitely ready to turn in for the night.

Too bad Iggy wasn't.

Bowser was just checking the throne room one last time. Before he had even entered the room though, he could make out the sound of sobs. They were sporadic, breathy, and loud. Not loud enough to cause a panic, but loud enough to hear. When Bowser actually entered the room, he could see Iggy there. He was crying his eyes out right in front of the throne. Tears were streaming down his face like miniature waterfalls, and he was wailing so much that he could be mistaken for a banshee.

"Iggy?" Bowser asked as he approached.

"Don't talk to me!" Iggy exclaimed. "I am unworthy to be spoken to by the king."

Bowser sat down on the throne. During the daytime he usually sat on it with authority, but this time he sat on it like it was any other chair.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because," Iggy said, "I am nothing but a detritivorous annelid!"

Iggy reached into his tissue box and blew his nose. Bowser stared at him in confusion.

"Uhh...a what?"

Iggy drew in a pained breath.

"I AM A WORM!"

Iggy broke down into another round of sobs. His head dipped into his lap, and he was crying very intensely. Bowser had no idea what was going on, nor what could be done about it.

"What is going on here?" came Kamek's voice. Bowser turned and sighed in relief at the sight of his magikoopa advisor.

"Oh, thank Miyamoto. Kamek, I need your help."

Kamek approached the king reverently, staring at Iggy all the while.

"What's the problem?" he asked. Bowser hesitated.

"Uhh….we appear to be having a bit of a crisis on our hands."

Kamek nodded and approached Iggy, placing his hand onto the shoulder of the Koopaling.

"What's going on, Iggy?" he asked gently. "Why are you so upset?"

Iggy sniffled and dried his eyes. He turned to Kamek distraughtly.

"It's all my fault, Kamek! **I **am the reason why Morton is depressed!"

There was a moment of silence. Then Bowser snorted back a giggle.

"Iggy, I think you are giving yourself way too much credit."

"I agree," Kamek said. "Iggy, you are not that powerful."

Iggy stared at Kamek. Frustration was present in his teary, foggy eyes.

"Kamek, he showed me one of his memories!" he screamed.

"And did you pay attention to it?" Kamek asked.

"Of course I did! I pay attention to everything!" Iggy sighed and hung his head miserably. "Except Morton's feelings, apparently."

Kamek and Bowser exchanged a look. They didn't say a word, but the looks in their eyes were so powerful that they were able to have an entire conversation.

"Iggy, do you love Morton?" Bowser finally asked.

"Of course I do!" Iggy said as he turned toward the Koopa King. "I love him from the depths of my heart!"

Bowser smiled. Kamek did the same, his eyes shining underneath the flawless surface of his glasses.

"Then you need to go talk to him," Bowser said. "You need to tell him you're sorry."

"Yes," Kamek agreed. "You need to tell your brother that you only have his best interest at heart, and you need to tell him that you regret every action that lead him to feeling hurt."

Iggy nodded as he considered this.

"I do regret my actions." Then he smiled as he stood up. "Many thanks to the both of you. I know what course of action I must enact."

…

The five Mortons were exactly where Iggy thought they would be; in their room. They were all sitting in front of their TV, watching Rainbow Mare. Iggy cleared his throat to get their attention, and when he did the Ethical Center stood up.

"Iggy!" He went over to his brother, stepping over the sleeping Laziness in order to do it. "I am so sorry."

"No, Morton, I'm sorry," Iggy said. "I never should have called you a show off. It was immature, unnecessary, and ultimately did more harm than good. Honestly, if I had known that my words could have caused you to become depressed, I never would have said them."

The Ethical Center looked a little taken aback.

"You didn't make me depressed."

Iggy was startled. He stared at the Ethical Center, once again doubting whether or not he had heard the words that were spoken to him correctly.

"I….I didn't?"

"No! Goodness, gracious no! What could have given you that idea?"

Iggy was flabbergasted. It seems that Bowser and Kamek were right; he had been giving himself too much credit.

"Well then if I didn't cause your depression," Iggy said, "then what did?"

The Ethical Center looked back and forth between Iggy and his fellow traits. He then let out a sigh.

"I...I don't know," he admitted. "I really don't know. I've been feeling this way for a long time, but I honestly never knew the cause."

Iggy nodded. He supposed on some level that made sense. Morton's depression was most likely multifactorial, and if that was the case, then there was probably no way to narrow down the specific cause. And even if there was one main catalyst, then Morton had probably buried it deep within his subconscious. Realizing this, Iggy felt his heart sink.

"Are you okay, Iggster?" The Ethical Center asked.

"Yes," Iggy lied. "I'm just a little tired. It's been a long day."

The Ethical Center smiled.

"Do you want to watch Rainbow Mare with us?"

Iggy looked at the TV. The show appeared to be about halfway done. Nevertheless, it still caught Iggy's interest.

"Sure."

So, the two of them sat down to watch Rainbow Mare. Unfortunately, Iggy was too deep into his own head to really enjoy what was being shown on screen.

"Isn't the animation beautiful?" Chattiness gushed.

"Hmm? Oh yeah," said Iggy. "It's very vibrant and well drawn."

"Yeah," Chattiness said. "It is also very fluid; you can tell a lot of time went into it."

Iggy glanced at the screen. He had to agree; the animation was well done both from a technical perspective and on an aesthetic level.

"Hey," Chattiness said. "I really appreciate you listening to what I have to say."

Iggy looked at Chattiness in confusion.

"Well, you are very articulate," he said. Chattiness smiled.

"Thanks." He sighed. "You know, I miss talking with you guys."

"I miss conversing with you as well," Iggy said. Chattiness and the Ethical Center turned to him in surprise.

"Really?" they said in unison. "But I thought you didn't want to hear what I had to say!"

Iggy's confusion from before doubled. He looked back and forth between the two traits.

"Why in the Mushroom World would you think that?" he asked.

Chattiness and the Ethical Center exchanged a look. The the Ethical Center sighed.

"Well, you're just so amazing," he said. "You were able to discover an element when you were four years old. In under a year, you built fifteen robots for the Koopa Troop army AND build a time machine."

"Yeah," said Laziness with a yawn. "You are pretty cool, Iggy."

"And so is everyone else," Love for Food spoke up. "I mean, Ludwig is both a special and a musical prodigy!"

"And Roy is so strong!" said Chattiness. "He can do a million reps with dumbells that weigh four hundred pounds!"

Depression let out a sigh, one of the most miserable that Iggy had ever heard.

"Why would such incredible people bother with someone like me?" he said, more to himself than anybody else.

Iggy's brain was going into overdrive, trying to comprehend all of the information that was just handed to him. Suddenly, it all fell into place.

"Oh my developer; that's it!"

"What's it?" the Ethical Center said.

Iggy jumped up and looked at the five parts of his younger brother.

"Morton, I think I know why you're depressed."

"You do?" asked Depression. He looked immensely curious, as did everyone else. Iggy nodded.

"Morton, I think you're jealous," he said.

"Jealous?" asked the Ethical Center and Depression.

"Of what?" asked the other three traits.

"Of us!" Iggy said. "You have been idolizing us so much that you've started to doubt your own self worth."

The five Morton's exchanged looks.

"That...that makes sense," the Ethical Center said.

"Oh my developer, you're right Iggy!" said Chattiness. "Why didn't I see it before?"

"Because you were so focused on him," Iggy said as he gestured toward Depression. "Once you started developing this problem, you became desperate to hide it. You wanted to make sure that nobody saw what you were going through." Suddenly, something else fell into place. "And that's why you've been suppressing your emotions! Isn't it?"

The five Mortons didn't say anything. They just nodded in response.

"Morton," Iggy said softly, "you've gotta stop doing that."

Depression sniffled back a sob.

"But...but it hurts Iggy!" he said. "It hurts to feel. I try to be happy, but I don't know how!"

Iggy gave him a reassuring smile.

"Well, then you're in luck," he said. "Because you've got six siblings who love you to death. If you need help, then you can always turn to us."

The five Mortons looked at Iggy. Then they smiled.

"Thanks Iggy," they all said in unison. "I needed to hear that."

Suddenly, all five of Morton's traits began to glow. They glowed so brightly that the light filled the room. When it cleared, only one Morton remained: the original. Iggy smiled as Morton stared at him in confusion and bafflement.

"How did…?"

"Your five traits have been existing in some form of discordance," Iggy explained. "Once they finally found a way to exist in equilibrium, they reassembled."

Morton looked at his hands, studying his body. Then he went up and gave Iggy a hug.

"Thank you so much, Iggster," he said softly.

"Anytime, Morton," said Iggy. "Now let's see if we can do something about Wiggles."


	10. The Darkness Within

Chapter 10 The Darkness Within

"Is he going to be okay?" Morton asked.

Iggy, Morton, and WIggles were in the lab, and Wiggles was lying back down on one of the exam tables. Iggy had a stethoscope in his ears and was listening to Wiggles' tummy.

"He will be," Iggy said as he took the stethoscope out of his ears. He ducked into the storage area in the back of the room. About two minute later, he came out with a bottle of blue pills in hand. "As soon as we give him one of these."

"What are those?" Morton asked.

"They are a pill of my invention," Iggy said as he uncapped the bottle. "Their formula will be able to help Wiggles recover from his food borne illness."

Iggy held out the pill to Wiggles. The chain chomp puppy weakly sniffed it before taking it. He swallowed it in one gulp, much to Iggy's relief. He had interacted with a plethora of chomps who had belligerently refused to take the pill. Morton stared at his puppy, a hint of concern leaking from his eyes.

"How long until it kicks in?" he asked.

"It should take a few minutes," Iggy said. "Now, I advise you to be cautious around him. Make sure that he consumes plenty of water, as he will experience dehydration pretty quickly on this medication. Once it kicks in, he will also undergo hyperactivity."

Morton nodded.

"I promise that I will be extra careful," he said. He gave Iggy a smile. Considering that he hadn't smiled in a long time, the expression looked rather forced. Fortunately, it was a step in the right direction. Iggy smiled back.

"I know you will."

There was a brief moment of awkward silence as Morton hesitated over what to do next. Then Morton put his hand on Iggy's shoulder, patting it lovingly.

"Thanks for your help, Iggster."

"Anytime, bud," Iggy replied. Morton made his way to the staircase that would take him out of the lab. It wasn't until he was halfway up that he noticed that Iggy had his personality splitter in his hand. Morton went back down with interest and concern.

"You okay, Iggy?" he asked.

"Hmm? Oh yeah," Iggy said. He placed the device on the table. "Just lost in thought, that's all."

Morton snickered. Iggy looked at him in confusion.

"What component of my statement did you find to be comedic?"

Morton shook his head with a smile.

"Nothing." He then set Wiggles down on the lab floor and picked up the device. "I've gotta say, this thing is really cool."

Iggy beamed with pleasure and pride.

"Thank you," he said. He took the device away from Morton and started to examine it. "I put a lot of time into it."

"You really care about me that much, huh?" Morton asked.

Iggy nodded.

"I do." Then he sighed. "I have got to admit, I was not anticipating it to work. But now that it does…"

Iggy's voice trailed off. Morton looked at him with curiosity.

"What is it?"

"It's nothing," Iggy said with a chuckle. Morton raised an eyebrow.

"Iggy, you said you want me to be more open about my feelings, right? Well, why can't you do the same?"

Iggy looked into Morton's eyes, noticing the glaring look that they were portraying.

"Okay," Iggy finally said. "I was just thinking about how much power that rests within this device." Iggy picked his invention off of the table and started stroking the silver surface of the handle. "With this much power, who knows what I could be capable of?"

Morton could hear a sense of greed enter into Iggy's tone, making his skin crawl.

"Iggy…"

"Imagine what could happen if I could isolate the best traits of everyone else," he said, completely disregarding Morton's presence now. "Imagine how much stronger we would be."

"Iggy!"

Iggy seemed to snap out of his trance. He stared at Morton, his face covered in embarrassment.

"I apologize," he said quietly. "I didn't mean to freak you out; it was just a thought I had."

"It's fine, Iggy," morton said. Iggy still looked a little unsure.

"You know I would never do that, right? I mean, it's not at all ethical in the slightest; taking advantage of someone like that."

Morton nodded in agreement.

"You're right. You're absolutely right."

Iggy looked back down at the device.

"Maybe I should just put this away," he said nervously.

With that, Iggy started to make his way to the storage closet again. He didn't get very far though, as he heard a bark escape from Wiggles' mouth. Iggy stared at the chain chomp as he started to bounce up and down.

"What's going on?" Morton asked.

"It appears that the pills have finally kicked in," Iggy said He took a step forward, and Morton put his hand on Wiggles' head.

"Okay buddy, try to calm down,' Morton said to WIggles with a gentle inflection.

Morton picked the chomp up and held him in his arms. For a second, Wiggles remained perfectly still. Then he started wiggle and squirm, and with a series of excited barks he jumped out of Morton's arms. He started to racing around the lab at top speed.

"Wiggles, sit!" Morton said.

Wiggles didn't listen, he just continued with his merry romp. He was going so fast that when he made his way over to Iggy, Iggy did not have nearly enough time to move out of the way. Wiggles bumped into him, causing Iggy to drop the personality splitter. It landed on the button engraved with the number two, and when it did a light shot out in Iggy's direction. Iggy screamed as the light overtook him.

"IGGY!" Morton cried once the light cleared. He saw ran over to his elder brother, who was groaning on the floor. "Are you alright?"

"I...I think so," Iggy said as he rubbed his head. He started to stand up, and when he did he gasped. He looked absolutely terrified.

"What is it, Iggy? What's the matter?" Morton asked.

Iggy pointed across the room.

"That's _me_!" he cried.

Morton looked over where Iggy was pointing and gasped. There was another Iggy standing on the other side of the room. Unlike the real Iggy, this one had an emerald green mohawk and shell. He grinned evilly at the two Koopalings.

"Oh man," he said, "it feels so nice to be free." He sneered at the real Iggy. "Now I can finally do whatever I want with that device!" Iggy gawked.

"Oh my developer. That must be my dark side!"

Dark Iggy ran forward and snatched the device off the floor. He cackled maniacally as he aimed it at Wiggles. He pressed the button, and suddenly there were two Wiggles in the room. One of them had a red sheen and red eyes, and he was growling at Morton and Iggy. Dark Iggy grinned.

"Just what I need," he said. He grabbed dark Wiggles by the chain and started making his way out of the lab.

"Wait!" Iggy called. He ran forward, and was just about to ram into his dark self when Dark Iggy turned to him. He pulled out a hospital mask and a little tear shaped pod from his hammerspace.

"This is for your own good, Iggy."

He dropped the pod after putting on the mask. A dark blue mist filled the room; a sleeping draft. Iggy and Morton could only watch Dark Iggy leave the room as their sleepiness overtook them.

…

Iggy woke up with a start. He looked to his side and saw Morton and Wiggles.

"Morton!" he got up and shook his brother awake.

"Wha..what happened?" Morton groaned.

"My dark side got away," Iggy said. He noticed that sunlight was starting to filter in through the window. "And it's morning!"

Morton's eyes grew wide.

"Oh no! Your dark side is probably going to use the machine on everyone else!"

Iggy nodded in worry.

"We have to stop him!"


	11. Pent Up Anger

Chapter 11 Pent Up Anger

Dark Iggy. An interesting name really. The first part of it wasn't even a name; it was an adjective. An adjective that, in all honesty, Dark Iggy did not like to be labeled with. He didn't like it because darkness implied the presence of evil, and Dark Iggy did not see himself as evil.

That wasn't to say he did not know why he was labeled that way. In reality, Dark Iggy was the personification of the deepest desires of Iggy's heart. He was Iggy's desire to be in control. He was Iggy's desire to be recognized by the world. He was Iggy's fury. He was his insanity. He was the secret that not even Iggy himself knew about. A secret that Dark Iggy felt needed to be thrust into the light.

As Dark Iggy graced the halls with Dark Wiggles, he heard a pleasant whistling sound. Up ahead he could see Ludwig, his snout buried in the pages of a book. Dark Iggy grinned when he noticed that Ludwig was wearing the power suppressor. This would make his job so much easier.

"Greetings to you, Ludwig," Dark Iggy said pleasantly to his older brother. Ludwig looked up with a smile.

"Oh, hey Iggy! I've gotta say, I am really liking this power suppressor. It really has worked wonders." Ludwig's face fell into worry once he noticed that Iggy's hair was a different shade of green. "Uh, Iggy what happened to your hair?"

Dark Iggy's grin grew bigger.

"Let's just say I got split up."

A drop of confusion was blended into Ludwig's worry.

"Split up?"

"Yep." Dark Iggy held up the personality splitter. "And I'm about to do the exact same thing to you."

Ludwig's eyes grew wide with fear. He backed up and started running in the direction from which he had just come from. Dark Iggy gestured to Dark Wiggles.

"Wiggles, get him!"

Dark Wiggles let out a bark and chased after the oldest Koopaling. Dark Iggy could see his brother struggling with the Power Suppressor, trying to remove it as he ran. It was then that Dark Iggy became thankful that he had forgotten to tell him the password.

Dark Wiggles put on a burst of speed right before Ludwig got to the door. The chomp stood before him, causing Ludwig to back away in fear at the sight of his menacing red eyes. He turned back to Dark Iggy, who could see that the oldest Koopaling looked absolutely terrified.

"Help! Someone help me!" Ludwig yelled.

"Don't worry, Ludwig," Dark Iggy said. "I am doing this for your own good."

He then pressed the button engraved with the number five, and a light shot out of the comet piece. Just like with what happened with Morton, five Ludwigs now stood in the hallway. One had a sky blue cloak, one had a plum colored cloak, two were wearing green and orange cloaks, and the last one was wearing red. They were all wearing a different version of the power suppressor, much to Dark Iggy's relief. He studied each of the five Ludwig's. When his eyes fell upon the one wearing the plum colored cloak, that Ludwig turned toward the orange cloaked Ludwig with fear in his eyes.

"He's looking at me. Why is he looking at me?"

"Because you're so darn beautiful," the orange cloaked Ludwig with a sardonic inflection. Then the red cloaked Ludwig stepped toward Dark Iggy. There was a furious heat burning in his eyes, causing his face to contort into an angry expression.

"You had a lot of nerve doing that to me Ignatius!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Oh! You must be Ludwig's rage!" Dark Iggy said happily. He extended his hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

Rage slapped Dark Iggy across the face.

"Oww!" Dark Iggy said as he put his hand to his cheek. "Hey, settle down!"

Rage was practically fuming when he heard his brother say that. He lunged at Dark Iggy, but failed to tackle him to the ground. Dark Iggy shrieked and ran off. He ran down the various hallways and passed around various corners, not even stopping when he felt his breathing become painful. He looked behind him and saw that Rage was right on his tail. Rage jumped forward and pinned him to the ground. A low growl escaped from the throat of the red cloaked emotion.

"You are so dead," he said darkly. He curled his hand into a fist, but before he could punch him, Dark Iggy spoke up.

"Wait, wait, wait!" he exclaimed. "I have a proposition for you."

Rage's countenance became darker.

"Does it involve putting me back together?" he asked in a way that sounded like a threat.

"Why would you want me to do that?" Dark Iggy asked. "Especially seeing how I have so much more to offer you."

Rage raised an eyebrow in skepticism. Thankfully, he also got off of Dark Iggy's chest, allowing him to stand up. Dark Iggy let out a breath as he looked at Rage.

"Listen to me," he said. "I know that Ludwig has not been allowing you to be fully expressed. If I allow you to be reassembled with Ludwig's other traits, then that is exactly what you are going to go back to. Always being pushed to the side, always being treated like a potential threat."

The fury in Rage's eyes began to soften. Dark Iggy took that as a good sign, a sign that he was allowed to continue.

"If you come with me, if you form an alliance with me, then I can offer you so much more. I can offer you the privilege...no, I can offer you the **right ** to be expressed. Do you really want to turn that down, Rage?"

Rage seemed to consider it. Dark Iggy could practically see the gears turning in his head as he considered the offer.

"Okay," Rage finally said. "I'll do it."

Dark Iggy smiled

"Good. I am glad."


	12. Harmonious Irony

Chapter 12 Harmonious Irony

In order to find Dark Iggy more quickly, Morton and Iggy had decided to split up. Iggy ran through the west wing's hallway, barely paying attention to his surroundings. When he tripped, he got right back up. When he knocked over a side table, he left the mess lying there. When he was greeted by the servants, he barely acknowledged their existence.

It wasn't until Iggy came to a particularly brightly lit hallway in the main section of the castle that he stopped. As he stopped to regain his breath, he felt like his exhaustion was eating at his body. He didn't think he could go any farther.

"No," Iggy said out loud to himself, pushing that thought to the side. "Now is not the time for negativity. I need to keep going."

So, Iggy urged himself to go forward. He was like a car that was running low on gas, about to breakdown at any minute. But nevertheless, he kept on trucking. That is until he crashed into someone.

"Oh, I am so sorry!" Iggy said. He noticed that he had barreled into Ludwig. What was odd about this Ludwig was the fact that he was wearing a green cloak.

"No, it's okay," Ludwig said. Then he looked at Iggy in confusion. "Wait a second, what did you do with Rage?"

Now Iggy was the one who was confused. He stared at his green cloaked brother, as if that was a legitimate method to disquell his confusion.

"What in the Mushroom World do you mean by that?"

Ludwig gawked.

"You split us up, remember? Ludwig's rage chased you down the hallway. Remember that?"

Suddenly, it all made sense. Just like the last piece of a puzzle, it fell into place.

"That wasn't me, that was my dark side!"

"Your dark side?" Ludwig asked with a drop of shock in his inflection.

With that, Iggy explained everything. By the time that he had reached the end of the anecdote, Ludwig looked concerned.

"Oh my developer," he said softly. "That makes certain current events make so much more sense."

Iggy nodded. He studied the green cloaked Ludwig like a model walking down the runway.

"So you're one of Ludwig's core personality traits?" he asked.

"Uh huh," the trait said with a nod. "I am Ludwig's determination. It's nice to meet you."

Iggy smiled when he saw Determination extend his hand towards him. He shook it with gusto, relieved that he had come across this trait and not one of Ludwig's more aggressive ones.

"Where are the other traits?" Iggy asked.

Determination directed Iggy to follow him. They paced quickly down the hallways, as Determination liked to go at a particularly fast speed.

"Well, there they are," Determination said once they had reached the spot. "Or, there I am."

Iggy looked at the three other traits. There was a sky blue cloaked one, a plum colored cloaked one, and an orange cloaked one. Iggy looked at the one dressed in a plum cloaked, causing him to shriek.

"Why is he here?!" he exclaimed with a note of fear dominating his voice.

"He is going to help us," Determination told the others. The orange cloaked Ludwig snorted back a snicker.

"Oh, that's a great idea," he said sarcastically. "Next why don't we ask the grim reaper to play poker with us?"

Determination looked peeved at his fellow trait. Iggy, meanwhile, was analyzing his brother's core traits.

"So, who is who?" he murmured out loud. He looked toward the Ludwig wearing a sky blue cloak. Unlike the other traits, this Ludwig was completely oblivious to the world around him. This was because he was singing to himself.

"_We got split like a horrible couple, _

_The worst couple in all the land_

_And yes I am improvising_

_And for that you should give me a hand_

_Woo hoo!"_

Iggy stifled back a giggle.

"Okay, so I'm guessing that is musical inclination."

"Oh wow, bravo," the orange cloaked Ludwig said grumpily. "How in the world did you figure that out?"

Iggy looked at him, doing his best to push his annoyance to the side.

"Who are you?" he asked.

The orange Ludwig looked at him with skepticism and incredulity.

"I'm the Easter Bunny. Who do you think?"

Iggy felt a bitter taste rise into his mouth. His annoyance was so great that when he spoke, he did it with a less than happy inflection.

"You're Ludwig's sarcasm, aren't you?"

"Ding ding ding!" Sarcasm said, mimicking a game show bell. "Look at that, you can put two and two together!" He smirked. "I'd give you a prize, but I could really care less."

Iggy glared at the sarcastic trait. Not wanting his annoyance to become overpowering, he directed his attention toward the plum cloaked Ludwig. This Ludwig looked at him nervously.

"Fear?" Iggy asked gently.

The trait nodded apprehensively.

"Yes," he said, his voice coming out in a squeak. Iggy took a step toward him, causing Fear to back away. "Don't come near me! I don't want to get split up again!"

"Don't worry, I have no intention of doing that to you," Iggy said. "I just need one of you to tell me how you got this way."

Musical Inclination and Fear looked at Iggy in confusion.

"You mean you don't know?" they asked in unison. Sarcasm scoffed.

"Wow, you must have the memory of a goldfish or something."

Iggy sighed, and Determination did the same thing.

"Guys, it wasn't Iggy who split us up," said Determination. "It was Iggy's dark side."

"IGGY'S DARK SIDE!" Fear screeched. The eyes of the other two traits grew wide.

"But how is that possible?" asked Sarcasm.

"It was an accident," Iggy admitted sullenly. "I accidentally dropped the personality splitter."

Suddenly, Fear started to let out little whimpers. He also got a really bad case of the shivers and shakes.

"Rage chased after the dark side!" he exclaimed. Iggy at once felt his own fear start to claw away at the back corners of his consciousness.

"Then we need to act fast," he said.

"Yeah," said Determination. "Our powers are influenced by anger after all. Iggy, if your Dark Side finds value in that…"

"Who knows what chaos he could bring," Iggy said.


	13. Too Many Worries

Chapter 13 Too Many Worries

Many times, people find themselves in interesting positions, precarious positions. Positions such as these make people uneasy, anxious. They douse people in the worst dread that they have ever experienced in their life. This scenario was the exact position that Morton found himself in.

He was having trouble breathing, and not just because he was pushing himself to run. His anxiety levels were so high through the roof that they were in space. He didn't want Dark Iggy to get away with his scheme. Considering what he was, Morton could not comprehend a reality where Dark Iggy's plan brought forth good fruit. An unhappy ending was the scenario that he kept imagining, and because his personality instructed him to dwell on the negative, Morton was dwelling on the negative.

He did not want to be anxious; no one does. He had thought that anxiety and negativity wouldn't be problems after his traits initially got back together, but he was wrong. They were still there, dark and viscous. Why? He and Iggy had found the root of his depression, and Morton was too introspective to believe that they were wrong. Why wasn't his depression gone?

He did not know what to do. His first instinct was to disregard the feelings, to bury them deep beneath the surface. But that coping mechanism hadn't done him any good in the past. What could he do?

Morton didn't know. All that he did know was that he had to find Dark Iggy. His anxiety was nagging at him, but he couldn't let it have power over him. He couldn't let it become his god.

So, Morton kept going. That was, until he detected the sound of footprints around the corner. They were light, skimpy. They were also going at a relatively brisk pace. Morton gulped. What if it was Dark Iggy?

The person who was producing the footsteps was getting closer. Morton held his breath and pressed his back against the wall. He closed his eyes, afraid of who he might see if he lifted his eyelids.

The footsteps were getting closer, closer, and closer still. Morton speculated that they were five feet away. Three feet away. A foot!

_I am so doomed, _Morton thought. He could barely breathe now. In one last worried attempt to keep himself safe, he ducked into his shell.

"Morton?"

The voice didn't sound like Iggy's at all. Morton peeked out from his shell and breathed a sigh of relief. It was just Larry.

"Oh, thank goodness," Morton said as he stood up. Now that he wasn't in any danger, relief was washing over him in a torrent of waves. Larry stared at him in bafflement.

"You're back together!" Larry said.

"Oh, yeah, I am," Morton said. Larry's face broke out into a grin.

"Awesome!" he said. "So I'm assuming Iggy solved the depression problem?"

Morton's heart sank. Should he tell Larry how he felt? He didn't want any of his siblings to worry about him. Especially not Larry, seeing how he was the only one of his siblings that was younger than he was. It wouldn't be right to place his burdens on his little brother. But then he remembered the words that Iggy had said to him while he was split up.

_You've got six siblings who love you to death. If you are ever having trouble, you can always turn to us._

Morton let out a sigh. Iggy was right. He had to start opening up. After all, that was what he had been pushing Iggy to do in the lab.

"No, we haven't," Morton admitted.

Larry looked surprised.

"You haven't?"

Morton shook his head.

"I am still feeling as anxious as I always have." He started stimming with his fingers, hoping that the movement would help to relieve some stress. "And I don't know what to do about it either. I've been suppressing my emotions for so long that that has become my number one coping skill."

Morton looked away from Larry as he felt shame grip him. He should be able to do this. He should be able to know what to do. Why didn't he?

"Well," Larry began with a smile. "If your coping mechanism won't work, then I can give you one of mine."

Morton forced his eyes to travel back to his brother's spunky face.

"One of yours?"

"Yeah," Larry said, "you can think of something funny instead."

Morton gave a tiny smile.

"Like Lemmy's zinc pun," he said.

"Exactly!" Larry said with a grin. "Or Roy wearing one of Wendy's dresses!"

"Or the servants on Casual Friday," Morton said with a chuckle. Larry snorted.

"Yeah!" he laughed. "There's a reason why we only had one of those!"

Morton and Larry laughed together. When their laughter finally died, both of the koopa brothers had smiles on their faces.

"Thanks, Larry," Morton said.

"Hey, it's what I'm here for," Larry said. Suddenly, they heard a voice call out from the hallway.

"HELP!"

Larry and Morton exchanged a look.

"Was that Lemmy?" Larry asked.

Morton was confused. It certainly sounded like him. However, there was something off about the quality of his voice. It was louder, more echoey and dissonant. It was almost as if...as if there was more than one of him.

"Oh no," Morton said. He broke out into a run. Larry followed after him in confusion.

"Morton, what in the world is going on?"

Morton didn't stop. He continued to run. He had to find his brother. He had to find Lemmy.

Morton ran down a staircase and turned the corner. He now found himself in the courtyard. The sight in the grassy area made him gasp. Larry also stopped completely.

"What the World Eight?" he said in wide eyed shock.

There was not just one Lemmy. There were four.


	14. When Life Gives You Lemmys

Chapter 14 When Life Gives You Lemmys….

Larry and Morton stared at the Lemmys populating the courtyard. There was one that had a pink shell and mohawk, and he was grinning from ear to ear. There was another with a lime green shell, and he was juggling bowling pins while balancing on top of his circus ball. The one with a yellow shell was giggling uncontrollably, and the one with a gray shell appeared to be shivering in worry.

"Morton, what the goomba squishing heck is happening?" Larry asked in complete bafflement.

Morton just shook his head. This was not good, not good in the slightest. The gray Lemmy approached Morton and Larry, all the while chewing ferociously on his fingernails.

"Oh, thank the lumas you're here!" he exclaimed. His inflection was laden with so much worry that the voice almost didn't sound like Lemmy's at all. "We need you guys' help!"

Morton nodded solemnly as the gray Lemmy started to whimper and shiver. He reckoned that this trait was Lemmy's worry.

"We'll help you out," he said. "Don't worry, Worry."

It wasn't until that phrase escaped his lips that Morton realized how funny it sounded. He chuckled as a smile spread like acne across his face. The yellow shelled Lemmy laughed along with him.

"That was a good one, Morton!" he said. "Do you think you can repeat that?"

Morton chuckled as he made eye contact with the trait. The trait's eyes were glowing with good humor, searching the world for something to use in a joke. There was no doubt in Morton's mind which trait this was.

"Jokester?" he asked.

"Yes siree Bob! I am a jokester!" Jokester laughed. "And I certainly hope that you 'trait' me well."

Jokester laughed up a storm, and Morton would be lying through his teeth if he said he didn't join in. Suddenly, the pink shelled Lemmy started to bounce up and down, clapping his hands in a swift rhythm. His smile was so bright that it was the very definition of contagious.

"I'm guessing that you are Lemmy's happiness?" Morton said.

"Yep!" Happiness said as he started to do a little dance. The green shelled Lemmy rolled up to Morton and Larry on his ball.

"And I'm Love for Circus!" Love for Circus did a backflip, landing on the ground in a handstand. Morton clapped happily as Love for Circus took a bow.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" Love for Circus said. Jokester started to giggle.

"Hey. That trick really came in 'handy!' I almost couldn't 'stand' it!"

Love for Circus, Happiness, and Jokester all burst into laughter. Worry, however, stood on the sidelines, looking at his fellow traits with the gaze of an outcast.

"Okay, seriously, WHAT IS GOING ON!" Larry shouted.

The Lemmys stopped laughing and all looked at Larry. It was then that Morton realized how bizarre this must look to an outsider.

"I'm sorry, Larry," Morton said. "I should have told you earlier. Iggy's dark side got separated from him."

"Wait, what?" Larry exclaimed in fright.

"Yeah," said Happiness. "He used the personality splitter us up into Lemmy's five core traits."

"He was accompanied by Ludwig," Jokester said. He chuckled. "He was wearing a red cloak, so I asked him if he had 'red' any good books lately!"

Morton's heart sank. The only cloak that Ludwig owned was royal blue. If he was wearing red, that could only mean that he got split too.

"Wait a minute," said Larry. "You said that Dark Iggy split you guys up into five traits, but there are only four of you."

Worry's countenance became all the more anxious.

"Yeah," he said. "Brotherly Love went with Iggy's Dark Side!"

Morton and Larry exchanged a confused look.

"Brotherly Love?" Morton asked.

"Why would that of all traits turn to the Dark Side?" asked Larry.

"Because," said Love for Circus, "Lemmy loves all of his siblings. Especially Ludwig; he would follow him into the depths of the Underwhere if he had to."

Morton could only nod gravely. Then he heard Wendy's shriek. He exchanged a look with Larry and the Lemmys.

"Uh oh," Larry said. "That doesn't sound good."

"Well then let's go help her!" the Lemmys declared in unison

…

Iggy carefully made his way down the hall with the four Ludwig's. He had heard Wendy's shriek, and instantly knew what it meant. He had to get to his sister before Dark Iggy did.

Determination lead the pack, trailing ahead and gesturing for the others to hurry up and pick up the pace. Sarcasm was going at relatively the same pace as Iggy was, and Fear was cowering behind Iggy like a shield. Finally, there was Musical Inclination in the back. He was humming to himself, trying to string together notes into a song. Sarcasm rolled his eyes at his fellow trait's lack of speed.

"Yeesh. If he were going any slower, he'd be going backwards," he said to Iggy at his side.

Iggy was about to say something when Determination gestured for all of them to halt.

"Wait!" he said. He glanced around the corner, and everyone else did the same. There was Dark Iggy, along with Rage and the magenta shelled Brotherly Love. Fear let out a gasp.

"He split up Lemmy!" he exclaimed.

"And he's about to do the same to Wendy as well," said Musical Inclination.

Dark Wiggles' chain was wrapped around Wendy's body like a vine. She struggled to get free, but Wiggles grip around her was too strong.

"Iggy, don't do this!"

"Wendy, it's gonna be alright," Dark Iggy said. "I promise you that this won't hurt a bit."

Dark Iggy aimed th personality splitter in Wendy's direction. Everyone gasped when they saw the five traits that Wendy had gotten split into. There was a gray shelled Wendy, an indigo shelled Wendy, a teal shelled Wendy, a beige shelled Wendy, and a red shelled Wendy. The red shelled Wendy glared at Dark Iggy, Rage, and Brotherly Love.

"What was that for?" she demanded to know.

"It was for your best interest, dear sister," Dark Iggy said. "I plan on making a world where all of the deepest desires of a person's heart can be expressed fully. And that includes you, dear sweet Aggression."

Aggression's eyes grew wide.

"Expressed, you say?" she asked.

"Yes," said Rage. "Traits like us don't have to put on the back burner anymore."

"He's absolutely right," Brotherly Love said. "Wendy, I don't want you to feel anymore pain. Please come with us!"

Aggression looked back and forth between Dark Iggy and her fellow traits, who all seemed to be in shock. Then she smiled bullishly.

"Alright. I am in."

"Wait, Aggression!" said the indigo shelled Wendy. "You can't..."

Aggression growled at her fellow trait, not too dissimilar to how a lion hisses at its prey. This caused the trait to shrink back. Aggression turned to Dark Iggy with a smirk.

"Make that all in."


	15. You Panic!

Chapter 15 ...You Panic!

Iggy's arms were quivering like a leaf in a tornado. His heart beat was so rapid that it would make a mouse blush. His breathing….well, the less said about that the better.

"Iggy, are you okay?" Fear asked.

"I….I…."

With that, Iggy fainted.

…

The lights right above him were flickering when he opened his eyes. The constant switch from black to white was causing him to feel immensely confused. He lifted his head and saw that he was lying in an exam chair in his lab. He was surrounded by all of his siblings, including the traits of Wendy that had not gone with dark Iggy.

"He's awake!" Happiness exclaimed.

The indigo shelled Wendy approached Iggy carefully.

"Are you okay, Iggster?" she asked. Iggy groaned in response.

"Wha...what happened?" he asked groggily.

"You got abducted by aliens; what do you think happened?" asked Sarcasm.

Determination elbowed his fellow trait in the stomach.

"What he meant to say," he said, "is that you fainted after Dark Iggy left. We all carried you back to the lab."

Iggy looked at the group surrounding him. He noticed for the first time that Morton, Larry, and Roy were within it. Morton approached him, with the same amount of caution that the indigo shelled Wendy had.

"The symptoms that you exhibited were similar to that of an extreme anxiety attack," he said softly.

Iggy felt his heart sink. An anxiety attack? He had an anxiety attack? On some level that made sense; even Iggy himself would admit that he wasn't the most mentally stable when it came to that sort of stuff. But still...it was pretty inconvenient that he had one now of all times.

"Guys, I am so sorry," he said.

"Iggster, it's fine," said Larry with a smile. "At least no one else got hit by the personality splitter."

Iggy sighed in relief.

"That is good news." He then studied Wendy's four traits. "So, who exactly is who?"

"Oh, right, you guys haven't been formally introduced," Morton said. He gestured to the gray Wendy, who had on a shy expression. "This is Wendy's timidity."

Timidity looked at Iggy. She gave a little wave.

"Hi," she said meekly. She looked like a person who would break under the slightest input of pressure. Morton then gestured to the indigo shelled Wendy.

"This is Wendy's empathy."

Empathy nodded and smiled at Iggy.

"You have no idea how relieved I am that you are alright," she said. "I was extremely worried about you."

Morton then gestured to the teal and beige Wendys.

"And those are Bravery and Creativity."

Iggy looked to where Morton was pointing. Creativity, the teal colored Wendy, was sitting at one of the lab tables. She had a humongous box of colored pencils by her side, and was sketching something onto a piece of printer paper. Bravery, the beige one, looked a little antsy. Iggy supposed that this was because she did not have anyway to fully express herself at the moment.

"Iggy," Bravery said. "We have to stop Dark Iggy."

"She's right," Determination said. "Dark Iggy should not be able to go through with his plan. On top of that, none of us can exist as a fifth of a person forever. We need to get back together."

"But how are we going to do that?" asked Worry. Roy smirked.

"Are you kidding me? That should be easy!" he exclaimed. "After all, there are more of us than there are of them."

"That's true," Worry responded. "But the people that Dark Iggy has on his side are much more powerful than we are."

"Yeah," said Determination. "Ludwig's rage is on Dark Iggy's team."

Iggy nodded sullenly. That one factor, of Rage being on the dark side, was the main reason why he did not see anyway that they could get out of this. Despite the numbers that his side had, they could not fight against a special at full power. He let out a sigh.

"I don't know what to do," he admitted to the others. "I mean, how can we take on the dark side with the line up they have?"

Everyone considered this. The more they thought about it though, the more their own dread increased.

"I don't know," Larry admitted.

"If only there was a way to get rid of Rage," Roy said.

Suddenly, a gasp escaped from Creativity's mouth. Everyone turned to her. They were able to see that her eyes were shining, almost as if a literal lightbulb went off in her head.

"I have an idea!" she said.


	16. Going to the Circus

Chapter 16 Going to the Circus

As Dark Iggy sat on Bowser's throne, he was relishing in the fact that he had basically won. He stroked the personality splitter lovingly, almost as if it were alive. Rage, Brotherly Love, and Aggression could see a haunting craziness resting in his eyes, specifically in the pupils.

"Thank you, my friend," Dark Iggy muttered softly to his machine. "You have done me a great service."

Rage just rolled his eyes. Brotherly Love looked a little concerned.

"Uh, Iggy, you do know that is a stick, right?"

Dark Iggy shot Brotherly Love a glare. When Aggression came and punched her brother, Dark Iggy smiled sadistically.

"Of course he knows it's a stick, Dinkus!" Aggression yelled angrily. "Unlike you, Iggy is not an idiot!"

Dark Iggy laughed uncontrollably. He found this display heavily amusing. On top of that, he also found it satisfying. Aggression was finally being expressed the way that she desired to be. This was exactly what he wanted, exactly how it should be.

"Excuse me, Mr. Dark Overlord," Rage said to Dark Iggy. "If it is okay with you, I have a request."

"Oh, it is okay with me alright," Dark Iggy said with a grin. "What is your request, Rage?"

Rage pulled aside the folds of his crimson cloak, drawing Dark Iggy's attention to the power Suppressor that he was wearing underneath.

"Can you get this thing off of me? I would like to use my powers."

Dark Iggy chuckled.

"Of course, my brother," he said. He dismounted the throne and approached Rage. Just before he could punch in the password though, a sound fell upon his ears. It was a song, being sung to the tune of "The Big Top."

_I am going to the circus, circus_

_I am going to the circus, circus_

_Go spin around once_

_Go spin around twice_

_Turkey, Turkey, turkey_

_Turkey, turkey, turkey!_

Once the song had reached its conclusion, whoever was singing it decided to take it from the top. Rage and Dark Iggy exchanged looks of confusion.

"What the World Eight is that?" Rage asked.

"It sounded like one of the Lemmys," Dark Iggy said. He heard Aggression let out a guttural noise, and when he turned around, he could see that she had her hands over her ears.

"That is so annoying!" she exclaimed. "Make it stop NOW!"

Dark Iggy agreed with her. While Lemmy was typically a good singer, the song that was being sung was really grating on his nerves. He turned to Rage and Brotherly Love.

"You two go find the Lemmy that is making that obnoxious noise," he said,"and make him SHUT UP!"

Rage and Brotherly Love nodded and left the throne room. As they walked down the halls, Rage could feel his annoyance grow. It was enough to make his countenance grow dark.

"Hey, try to stay calm," Brotherly Love said with a gentle tone. Rage only growled.

"I can't! That song is driving me nuts!"

The song was getting louder. Brotherly Love and Rage turned a corner and spotted Love for Circus. His back was facing them, and he was skipping down the halls.

_I am going to the Circus, circus._

_I am going to the Circus, circus._

_Go spin around once, _

_Go spin around twice _

_Turkey, turkey, turkey_

_Turkey, turkey, turkey!_

As Love for Circus skipped along, he was doing a little dance. He twirled around at the parts of the song that asked him to. When he got to the "turkey" parts of the tune, he came to a complete halt and waggled his behind, similar to how a male turkey ruffles its plumage. Rage and Brotherly Love were flabbergasted.

"What in the world is he doing?" Brotherly Love asked.

"How should I know? He's part of your personality, not mine!" Rage said.

Love for Circus did not stop. He continued to trek down the hallway. It seemed to Rage and Brotherly Love that the longer he went, the louder he got. Rage wanted to zap him right then and there. The only thing that was stopping him was the fact that the power Suppressor was still on.

Finally, after what felt like a millennium, Love for Circus came to a halt, both with his singing and with his skipping. He turned around, and when he saw the two traits, he smiled.

"Hello!" he said cheerfully.

CLANG!

Rage and Brotherly Love collapsed to the ground. Love for Circus grinned at Larry and Roy, who both had frying pans in their hand.

"Nice work, guys!" he said.

"Thanks!" Roy said. He chuckled. "I've always wanted to do that!"

Love for Circus snorted back a laugh.

"Okay," he said to his two brothers. "Let's get these two down to the dungeon. Iggy and Morton will want to have a chat with them when they come around."


	17. Emotional Dispute

Chapter 17 Emotional Dispute

While he didn't do it very often anymore, Iggy had to admit that watching someone sleep was a fascinating activity. There were so many interesting things that went on when a person was in this altered state of consciousness, such as the fluctuation of the breathing rate and the infamous sleep apnea.

As Iggy watched Brotherly Love sleep, he noticed that the trait was mumbling. He was saying things such as "please don't hurt him," and "leave us alone." While Iggy did find sleep apneas fascinating, he had to admit that it was sleep talking that he would love to study more in depth. After all, there were so many things that sleep talking revealed about a person's subconscious.

As Iggy was thinking about these things, Morton entered the cell. Iggy looked toward him with interest.

"How's Rage doing?" he asked.

"Alright, I suppose, " Morton responded. I mean, he hasn't woken up yet, if that is what you're asking."

Suddenly, Brotherly Love let out a little frightened cry. After the noise escaped from his mouth, his face held upon the pained expression that he had worn when he screamed. Then he slowly eased back into a peaceful slumber.

"His sleep has been very fitful," Iggy said. "Honestly, it makes me wonder about Lemmy's sleeping habits. Especially seeing how another one of his core traits is worry."

Morton nodded solemnly in response.

"I feel bad for him," he said. "I know what it is like to have restless nights."

Iggy turned to Morton, interest and worry plastered over every corner of his face.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah," Morton said with a nod. "I've never been a deep sleeper. When I was little, I used to stay up late in my room with a flashlight and a book." He chuckled. "I was naive enough to believe that wouldn't get me insomnia down the road."

Iggy was about to respond when he heard Brotherly Love give a gasp. Iggy turned to him and saw that he was now fully awake. He also looked morbidly frightened.

"Rage!" he called out. Iggy went over to his side.

"Lemmy, it's going to be alright," he said. Brotherly Love stared up at him with big, worried eyes.

"Where's Rage?" he asked.

"I have been informed that Rage is still unconscious," Iggy said. Brotherly Love whimpered as he faced Iggy.

"Please don't hurt him!" he said. Morton approached the teary eyed trait.

"Don't worry, we won't hurt him. We just want to ask him a few questions."

Brotherly Love started to cry.

"I'm sorry that I went over to the dark side," he said. "I just wanted what was best for everyone."

"And you think that was the dark side?" asked Iggy. Brotherly Love's eyes filled with even more tears.

"I...I don't know!" he admitted. "I mean, I didn't agree with everything Dark Iggy was saying. I just….

Iggy heard the door creak, and Lemmy's other traits entered the room. Worry looked at Brotherly Love with the same expression he would gaze at a traitor with. Nevertheless, Brotherly Love looked relieved.

"Oh, guys," he said. "Can we please get back together?"

"Sure!" Happiness exclaimed pretty much immediately. "I would love that!"

"Me too!" Love for Circus and Jokester exclaimed in unison. Worry, on the other hand, looked a little hesitant.

"I don't know," he said. "I mean, if you went over to the dark side, then…"

"Look, I'm sorry!" Brotherly Love said to the other Lemmys. "I didn't want to cause anyone any trouble."

"But you knew exactly who Dark Iggy was!" Worry pointed out. "And you went with him anyway!"

"I know I did!" Brotherly Love screamed. He then let out a sigh. "I know I knew what Iggy's dark side was. That's why I was so hesitant to join him."

Iggy exchanged a look with Morton.

"Wait, you were?" he asked. Brotherly Love nodded at him.

"Yes, I was," he said. "The only reason I went with him at all was because Ludwig's rage was there." He shook his head. "I thought it was a good thing, honestly, that Rage had been separated. I mean….I have been sharing a bedroom with Ludwig for almost a year now. And during that time, I noticed some things that were off. It hasn't been so bad after we swapped bodies, but Ludwig always seemed to push his anger to the side."

"So he's been doing the same thing that I've been doing," Morton said. Brotherly Love nodded.

"It appears that way." He sighed. "And I want Ludwig to be able to express himself. I know that he is a special but..." Brotherly Love sniffled back tears. "I don't know what to do!"

Brotherly Love held his head in his hands. Lemmy's other traits were exchanging looks of concern. Iggy went up to him and smiled.

"I know how you feel," he said. "After all, that is why I have invented the power suppressor."

Brotherly Love dried his eyes and stared at Iggy.

"I know," he said. "It's just…" He chuckled in a hollow way. "Old habits die hard."

"That is true," Iggy said. Brotherly Love chuckled again.

"I am so sorry," he said. "I just wanted things to be alright for Ludwig." He turned to the other traits. "You guys understand that, right?"

The other traits exchanged looks. Then they all smiled.

"We do," they said in unison. Suddenly, all five of the Lemmys began to glow. When the light cleared, the original Lemmy remained. He turned to Iggy and Morton.

"Thank you," he said softly.

"Anytime, Lems," Iggy said.


	18. The Special's Woe

Chapter 18 The Special's Woe

Morton entered the cell cautiously, unsure of whether or not Rage was awake yet. He breathed a deep sigh of relief when he saw that Rage was still out cold. He turned to Ludwig's other traits, who were each staring at Rage intently. Fear in particular was looking at Rage like he was a ferocious monster.

"Still not awake?" Morton asked.

"Nope," said Determination.

"And I hope he stays that way," Fear said worriedly. He succumbed to breaking down into shivering. Morton went over and gave him a pat on the back.

"It'll be okay," he said. "As long as he's wearing the power Suppressor, then he can't harm anybody."

Fear could only give a weak nod. Morton began to realize that Fear was scared to death of Rage. He was just about to address this when he heard Rage give a groan on the cot. The red cloaked trait started to stir, and when his eyes fluttered open he looked momentarily confused.

"Where am I?" Rage turned his head, and when he saw his fellow traits, he bolted upright.

"YOU!"

"Hello, Rage," Determination said in a way that sounded less than friendly. Rage growled.

"Oh, you must think you're so clever, knocking me out like that." He started struggling with the power Suppressor, picking at it as if it were a scab. "As soon as I get this thing off, all five of you are dead meat!"

Sarcasm snickered.

"Oh, I'm so scared. You do realize that thing requires a password, right?"

Rage looked at Sarcasm with scorn and anger flashing across his countenance. Then, like a cat pouncing on a rodent, he lunged at Sarcasm and pinned him to the ground. The two wrestled, getting dirt all over their faces, in their hair, and all over their cloaks. Morton decided that now would be as good a time as ever to step in.

"Okay, that is enough!" He pried the two emotions apart. Rage looked at him spitefully, a collection of blue bruises marking up his face. "Rage, please. I don't want to see you fight anyone." Morton's features softened. "I just want to talk to you."

Rage scoffed.

"And why in the Mushroom World would you want to do that?"

"Because I know all about suppressing emotions," said Morton. "What I don't know is what it is like being the emotion that is suppressed."

For a split second, a look of surprise appeared on Rage's face.

"Well...it sucks! I'll give you that!" he exclaimed furiously.

From across the room, Fear started to whimper. Morton saw that he was cowering in the corner of the cell, his eyes completely covered up by his hands.

"Please don't let this go wrong," he whimpered to himself. "I don't want anyone getting hurt again."

Morton then looked at Rage. He could see something new in his expression. While the anger was still there, there was also an entirely new layer underneath. It looked like...pain.

"Ludwig, you're afraid of losing control of yourself. Aren't you?"

There was a moment of silence. Rage was staring him down, as if that was the most insulting, audacious thing that could ever be said to him. Then he sighed.

"Ludwig thinks he would be better off without me," Rage admitted with sadness in his eyes. "And really, who could blame him? I always show up at the worst times, and I always make everything worse."

Suddenly, Morton realized something. He let out a little gasp.

"What? What is it?" Rage asked. Morton stared at him in wonder.

"Ludwig, I think you have the same problem I do."

"What? Suppressing my emotions?" Rage asked.

"No," Morton said. "I think you also have depression."

Rage looked at Morton. Then he looked at his other traits. They didn't confirm it, but they weren't denying it, either. Then Rage's gaze returned to his brother. While he didn't say anything, the look in his eyes and on his face was all the confirmation that Morton needed.

"Oh my developer, it makes so much sense to me now," Morton said. "Since you're a special, you've been forced to suppress your anger your whole life."

The anger in Rage's eyes was now completely gone. Now he looked sad, miserable. He looked like he was calling out for help, which Morton realized was exactly what he was doing. Morton wrapped his arms around him as the tears started to rain down.

"I...I hate being a special!" Rage admitted. "I hate having to bury my feelings. I hate always having that extra layer of worry and stress. Sure, there are some upsides to it. But...it's just so hard sometimes!"

Morton gave a tiny smile.

"Well, you can use your abilities for good."

"I know!" Rage said. "But the cross that comes with this is just so hard to bear. I just...sometimes, I just want to give up!"

Morton felt his heart break like glass. He wrapped his arms tighter around Rage.

"Please don't do that," he said quietly. "Don't give up. There is a better way to deal with this."

Ludwig's rage sniffled.

"Like what?" he asked.

Morton took a moment to think about it. He looked at Ludwig's other traits, and when he saw Musical Inclination, he got an idea.

"Well, for starters, you have your music," Morton said. "Your music can act as a creative outlet for your anger." Morton gave a reassuring smile. It was small, but reassuring nonetheless. "And of course, I am always here for you if you need me."

Rage looked at Morton in surprise. Then, he started to glow. Morton turned and saw the other traits begin to glow as well. Then, only the original Ludwig remained. He stared at Morton in shock.

"You'd...you really want to help me?" he asked.

Morton chuckled.

"Ludwig," he said, "that is quite possibly the stupidest question I have ever heard you ask."

Ludwig chuckled before he wrapped his arms around Morton again.


	19. Aggressive Fighting

Chapter 19 Aggressive Fighting

"Ludwig!"

Iggy saw Lemmy smile profoundly once their brother emerged from the cell in one piece. Lemmy ran up to Ludwig and gave him the mother of all hugs. He looked like he was so full of joy that he could burst with glee and happiness at any moment.

"I am so glad you're back together!" Lemmy gushed.

Ludwig laughed warmly.

"I can say the same for you, Lems."

Lemmy giggled at Ludwig as he wrapped his arms tighter around his midsection. While Iggy loved the sight of the reunion displayed, he also knew that they had some more pressing issues that they needed to attend to before they could celebrate. So, he cleared his throat, and everyone's eyes went over to him.

"I immensely dislike playing the role of a killjoy," Iggy said. "But I'm afraid that we have other pressing matters."

"Oh, right," Lemmy said as he let Ludwig go. "You and Wendy are still split up!"

Iggy nodded seriously, putting on an authoritative face.

"Yes," he said. "And I am afraid that the only way to put us back together is to retrieve the personality splitter from my dark side."

"How would that help?" Morton asked. "The only way that your traits can be put back together is if they find a way to coexist!"

Iggy grinned.

"That is true; that is one way that the personality can be restored. However, contrary to what you said, that is not the only way."

"Yeah," Ludwig said as he turned to Morton. "Iggy put an extra button onto the device while he was working on it. It resets everything that the splitter has done."

Morton's eyes flashed with understanding. He realized that was a good thing. After all, now that Dark Iggy was split from the original Iggy, it was very unlikely that he would want to go back. Unfortunately, since the personality splitter was in Dark Iggy's possession, that meant that they would have to face Dark Iggy and Aggression head on. When he voiced his concerns, he saw that Iggy nod. However, to Morton's surprise, the grin did not fall from his face.

"That will not be too much of an issue," he said. "After all, there are more of us than they are of them. Besides…" Iggy punched in the password to the power suppressor, allowing Ludwig to remove it… "we have all of the powerful fighters on our side."

…

Dark Iggy pet Dark Wiggles as he sat on the throne. Aggression was doing her nails, admiring their orange color underneath the glowing yellow lights of the throne room. Although he could not see her face, Dark Iggy could tell that she was starting to grow annoyed due to the fluctuation of her breathing pattern.

"What is troubling you, dear sister?" Dark Iggy asked as he crossed his legs.

"Rage and Brotherly Love are taking forever!" she whined. Dark Iggy nodded in agreement.

"Yes, they have been gone for a while," he said. He ran his hand down the spherical shape of Dark Wiggles' back. Aggression turned toward Dark Iggy with a question look.

"Do you think that something happened to them?"

"BAH!" Dark Iggy guffawed. "Don't make me laugh! There is nothing that could stand as any possible threat to that 'dynamic duo.'"

Dark Iggy chortled at his own joke. Aggression did not, instead she stared at Dark Iggy with incredulity steaming across her face.

"Oh come on!" Dark Iggy said once he saw the look Aggression was throwing his way. "Wendy, the only thing that could possibly do any damage to either of them is my light side!" Dark Iggy leaned back, a satisfied smile washing over his face as his body relaxed. "And I guarantee you, dear sister, that is not even a blip on the threat radar. At this point, Light Iggy poses just about as much threat as a common Drosophila melanogaster."

Aggression was just about to ask Dark Iggy what that was when the door burst wide open. The other Koopalings burst through the door, Iggy leading the pack. Dark Iggy gawked as Aggression looked at him smugly.

"You were saying?" she asked.

Iggy stepped forward, wearing a determined look.

"Dark Iggy," he said strongly and bravely, "we have come for the personality splitter."

"Yeah," Bravery said. She wore a confident grin on her face. "So you had better hand it over, you spinach green freak!"

Dark Iggy's shock melted away to boredom. He let out a yawn and nonchalantly turned to Aggression.

"Wendy, go take them out."

Aggression got into her fighting stance. Then, she removed one of her rings and flung it at Roy. He managed to dodge, both on the initial throw and when the ring came back toward Aggression. Bravery ran forward with her hands out, but Aggression had a counter attack. She grabbed hold of her fellow trait's hands, and together the two of them pushed against each other. Neither one of them won, so then they resorted to throwing punches and kicks at one another.

"Sweet! A girl fight!" Larry said with a grin.

Unfortunately, this comment was enough to throw Bravery off. One of Aggression's punches hit her right on the lip. When Bravery pulled back, Aggression kicked her in the chest, causing her to fall on her back.

It was then that Ludwig flew over toward Aggression. He tried to knock her over, but she dodged. Since Ludwig was going too fast to truly steer, he crashed into the wall. Plaster and spiders fell down from the ceiling upon impact, covering the special in debris. He turned around and, with his eyes glowing white with anger, fired a blast of fire in Aggression's direction. Aggression was flung back from the impact. Empathy gasped when she saw her fellow trait on the ground.

"Are you alright, Aggression?" she asked in concern. She reached out her hand to help Aggression up. For a second, it looked like Aggression was genuinely grateful for the help. That was until she stood up. When she stood up, she flung Empathy down to the ground. Empathy groaned as she laid on the royal carpet.

Aggression grinned smugly at the other Koopalings. She ran toward Morton and started to throw punches at him. Morton, unlikely Bravery, was strong enough and skilled enough to not only dodge, but counterattack. He threw an uppercut punch right on her jaw. Aggression put her hand to the problem area. But afterwards the smug grin returned to her face. She took off her bracelet and made it expand to about four times its regular size. She threw it at Creativity and Timidity, causing them to fly backwards into a wall. She then threw it at Morton, Roy, Larry, Iggy, and Lemmy. Iggy was quick enough to dodge, but unfortunately everybody else got knocked into the wall as well. Iggy could see that they had all been rendered unconscious.

Aggression faced Iggy, a sadistic smile dominating her lips and eyes. Iggy got into his shell and rammed into her, causing her to fall backwards. Once he got out of his shell, he could see that she had also been knocked out upon impact. He then turned toward Dark Iggy, who was starting to look frightened.

"Alright," Iggy said with his negotiation inflection in place. "Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

Dark Iggy got up from the throne. In a frightened scurry, he bolted from the throne room, the personality splitter clenched in his fist.

Iggy sighed. He took the hard way.


	20. Light in the Darkness

Chapter 20 Light in the Darkness

Dark Iggy was so frightened that he felt his stomach churn like butter. He did not want to pushed deep within Iggy's unconscious again. It truly was a miserable place, and it served to create a miserable existence for a personality trait. No, this was not how Dark Iggy wanted his story to end.

So he ran. Up the stairs of the east wing, through the spiraling corridors. He was going at a marvelous speed, a speed that would make a marathon runner blush with a crimson complexion. That was until he tripped.

When he tripped, he saw the personality splitter fly out of his hands. It sailed over the hallway and landed with a dull thud on the plush red carpet. Dark Iggy tried to get up, but before he could scramble to his feet he heard the the footsteps of light Iggy, scurrying like a squirrel. Light Iggy bounced over Dark Iggy's fallen form like they were playing a game of leap frog, and he managed to grab the personality splitter off the floor.

"Yes!" he cried triumphantly. He turned to Dark Iggy with a happy, glowing smile of determination. It was in that moment that Dark Iggy officially gave up. He hung his head on the carpet.

"Fine. You win," he said miserably.

Dark Iggy braced himself for what was coming next. Of course, he was aware of the backup button, he was half of the person who had designed the device after all. Dark Iggy squeezed his eyes tightly, fully prepared to fade out of existence. Then, he felt something that he had not expected himself to; a hand being placed on his shoulder.

"You're crying," came Light Iggy's voice.

Dark Iggy opened his eyes and put his hand to his cheek. It was warm, wet.

"Are you okay?" Light Iggy asked.

Light Iggy helped Dark Iggy get to his feet. Once he was standing upright, Dark Iggy stared at Light Iggy. Light Iggy was frowning at him with his mouth, but smiling at him with his eyes. He looked so friendly. He looked at Dark Iggy like he was an old friend who had done something heinous. For an instant, Dark Iggy felt a surge of endorphins run through his veins. Then he snarled.

_It's a trick_, Dark Iggy thought. _It is all a trick!_

Dark Iggy tried to lunge for the personality splitter. Light Iggy moved out of the way just in the nick of time.

"Give me the device!" Dark Iggy screeched.

"No!" Light Iggy screamed back. Dark Iggy growled and tackled Light Iggy to the floor. He was like a rabid dog; a wild beast ready to tear his prey to shreds.

"You don't know what you are doing!" Dark Iggy said. "If you reset the device, then my life is over!"

"That is a fallacy!" Light Iggy said. "You will still exist! You'll just be a part of another person!"

Dark Iggy felt a surge of fury flare up, and his body reacted automatically. He sent a punch flailing toward Light Iggy's face. He hit him directly on the snout. Dark Iggy let out a satisfied smirk run across his face like a bandit when he made impact. Unfortunately, the satisfaction did not stay there for long, as Light Iggy kicked Dark Iggy off of him. He was flung to the floor, and he saw Light Iggy towering over him like a fierce warrior.

"Dark Iggy," he said sternly, "stop."

Dark Iggy tried to keep the anger on his face, but failed. As he stood up, he could feel fear course through his body. He could practically feel his arteries contracting, and his hands were shaking like crazy.

"Please don't do this," he said weakly.

"Why not?" Light Iggy asked.

Dark Iggy took in a deep breath and yelled at the top of his lungs:

"BECAUSE I DON"T WANT TO BE PUSHED TO THE SIDE ANYMORE!"

Now it was Light Iggy who looked angry.

"Being pushed to the side?" he asked. Dark Iggy nodded.

"Yes! Look, I…" Dark Iggy sighed. "I am sick and tired of always being pushed to the sidelines. I know that you don't like me, but that is not at all how I feel about you. Iggy, I love you. I only want what is best for you"

Light Iggy glared at his dark side.

"You only want what is best for me? I'm sorry, but how is splitting up my siblings in a ploy to obtain power doing what is best for me?"

"That wasn't what I was doing," Dark Iggy said. "I did not want power. All I wanted was to be expressed. All I wanted was to find a way for our siblings to be able to express themselves too. That's why I said I was doing this for your own good."

Light Iggy's facial features softened.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes," Dark Iggy said. "Iggy, I am trying to help you, that's all. That is all I wanted for you, was for you to be happy."

Light Iggy looked at Dark Iggy in wonder. Then he looked down at the personality splitter resting in his palms.

"Well, I am not happy right now," he said. "I wish I could be, but I am not. And I don't think I can be knowing that I am only half a person."

Dark Iggy hung his head. Of course, this was true. He himself had felt the void that was left when he got severed from his light half. It felt empty, hollow. It was one of the nastiest feelings he had ever experienced. It was a shame he hadn't realized that was what it was until now.

"Well then," he said solemnly. He took the personality splitter out of Iggy's hands. "Let's fix that, shall we?"

With that, he pressed the button.


	21. Split Ends

Chapter 21 Split Ends

The personality splitter felt heavy as Iggy walked back to the throne room. That might have been due to the current events, or it might have been caused by Iggy's exhaustion after the fight. Either way, he didn't mind; not really. It was over, it was finally over.

When Iggy got to the throne room, he laughed with joy. There they were, his six siblings. No more, no less. Wendy, now fully formed and fully back together, looked really happy despite the black eye that she now adorned. Larry, Lemmy, Roy, and Morton were now awake. Morton was holding Wiggles in his arms, who was licking him like a popsicle. Ludwig, despite the fact that his hair was messed up, looked extremely pleased.

"Greetings, fellow siblings," Iggy called out.

The other Koopalings rushed over. Wendy gave him the mother of all hugs.

"Iggy, you did it!" she exclaimed. "I don't know how, but you did it!"

Iggy felt warm sensations spreading from his chest up to his face.

"I plan on putting this device in storage," Iggy said as he displayed the personality splitter to everyone. "Hopefully then it will not be the harbinger of anymore grievances."

The others nodded, and Iggy headed down to his lab. The further he walked though, the more uncomfortable he became. He was back together, he was whole. Dark Iggy was no longer a threat. So why was it that Iggy felt so bad?

…

Morton walked into his room with Wiggles in his arms, and smiled at the sight of it. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he was actually seeing the room, taking it in. The colors seemed to pop, whereas before the were very plain and blander than bran. Topaz was singing a song in her cage. The melody was spunky and dynamic, just like her. Morton opened the cage and whistled sweetly.

"Come on, Topaz," Morton said. Topaz squawked.

"Hello, Master," she said. She stepped onto the platform created by Morton's outstretched finger, her tiny feet curling around the bone. Morton brought her over to his bed and pet her on the head.

"I liked your song," Morton said.

"Of course you did! I was singing it!"

Morton chuckled.

"You are such a diva."

Suddenly and without warning, the door opened, and in stepped Iggy. He looked guilty, ashamed. Or at least he would have if he wasn't going out of his way to hide it. His face was placid, and the only way that Morton could tell that something was wrong was the fact that he carried himself differently. Iggy cast Morton a weak smile.

"Hey, Morton."

"Hey Iggy. Is something wrong?"

Iggy nodded his head.

"It pains me to report that your inference is factual. I am in emotional turmoil at this moment and I wish to communicate its cause to you."

Morton was about to respond when Topaz flew off his finger and landed on Iggy's head.

"Squawk! A man of culture," she said as she snuggled on top of his mohawk like a nest. Iggy chuckled lightly.

"Hey! Nobody said you could sit there!" Topaz just chirped.

"This is my throne!" she said. "Bow to me, mortals!"

Now both of the Koopalings were laughing. Iggy came farther into the room and, after asking Morton's permission, sat on the edge of his bed.

"So what's troubling you?" Morton asked once Iggy had gotten himself situated.

"Well…" he started twiddling his thumbs. "Right before we got back together, Dark Iggy had relayed his point of view to me. And, I have to admit, I was thoroughly taken aback by the perspective that he contributed."

"How so?" Morton asked.

"Well, he said that he did not wish to obtain power for solely his benefit. He said that he was doing this for the good of both me and our siblings."

"And you believed him?" Morton asked.

Iggy turned toward Morton with worried eyes. He nodded his head slowly, cautious of the parrot snoozing on the top of his head.

"Yes," he said. "And what's more, now that we are back together, I can see his argument even more clearly."

"So what's the problem?" Morton asked, genuinely curious and intrigued at this point. The worry in Iggy's eyes grew to fill the whole face.

"What Dark Iggy did was not exactly morally sound," he said. "He claimed that he had everyone's best interest at heart, but I could see the selfishness in his argument. And here's the thing; Dark Iggy was a part of me. No, strike that, he _is_ a part of me. He is an essential component of my personality!"

Morton began to understand why his brother was so worried. He looked at Iggy in a way that hoped appeared gentle and comforting.

"So you're worried that you are evil."

Iggy nodded his head.

"Yes. Yes I am. I mean...I've done...I've created….I've destroyed…" Iggy shook his head. "I apologize. My thoughts are in a jumble right now."

Morton nodded his head slowly.

"It's alright; I see what you are trying to say." He sighed. "And I will admit, I have the same worry that you do. After all, I have aided Bowser in multiple kidnapping missions. Now, I know he's doing it for a good cause, but...there's always been a part of me that questioned it. Whether it was the right path to go down."

The two sat in silence for a bit. Morton gently picked Topaz out of Iggy's hair and ran his finger down her soft little body.

"But if it makes you feel better Iggy, I don't think that you are evil. I mean, you went through all that trouble to help me to feel better. Now, I'm not one hundred percent; I doubt I ever will be. But I don't think someone who is evil would care so much about someone like me." Morton smiled at Iggy. "On top of which, I don't think someone who is evil would be capable of loving his siblings the way that you love us."

A smile slowly spread across Iggy's face.

"Thank you, Morton."

"No problem," he said. He got up and slowly put Topaz back in her cage. As he closed the cage door, he spoke up again. "I feel like I should thank you again. Your personality splitter really helped me out."

"You are welcome, Morton," Iggy said softly. "While I don't have depression myself, I have heard what I devastating effect it can have on a person's well being. I am grateful we found the cause of yours. That is not a burden I want you to carry throughout your life."

"Me neither," Morton said. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the Rainbow Mare plushie that was still resting under his bed. That reminded him of something. "Oh, Rainbow Mare has a new episode coming up! Would you like to watch it with me?"

"Sure!" Iggy said.

**AN: I am so glad that this story is finished. I was a little worried about how it would turn out, as it does deal with heavier themes than some of my others. However, ultimately I am glad with how this turned out.**

**As always, thank you to all you guys for reading and reviewing. Shoutouts to all the people who have favorited and followed (the list is bigger than it usually is, so I don't think I can fit all of the names). Also, thank you all so much for your support. This series wouldn't be what it is without you guys. Have a great day everybody, and be sure to check out Super Koopalings Episode 10: Crossover Conundrum! :)**


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